Free books rank right behind free coffee as irresistible. That is the idea behind Bailey’s free books offer.
The Reclaim Her Name series is a re-release of books “with their author’s real name on the cover for the first time.” To mark the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, there are 25 books available for free download or eBooks (which definitely keeps costs down for printing and shipping).
It’s a fact that women have written some of the best novels ever published. It’s also a fact that some of those novels feature a man’s name in place of the authors.
A bit of her story
You won’t find a Brontë novel among the 25 because Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell had to reveal that they were in fact Charlotte, Emily, and Anne to allay suspicions that all the novels were written by a single author. But their publication history is relevant.
To get some understanding of that, take 90 seconds to watching Brontë Sisters Power Dolls
The idea of the Brontës’ fake mustache in the video refers to their motivation to be judged as authors only and not as women. For the same reason, Mary Anne Evans, who wrote Silly novels by Lady Novelists used the name George Eliot to have her work taken seriously.
What’s in a name?
The question then is: are we doing a favor to George Eliot and her pseudonymous peers in stamping their birth names in place of the names they chose themselves? What if there is more to the choice of name than patriarchal oppression?
Consider one of the most popular authors in the current century: J.K. Rowling. The author of the incredibly successful Harry Potter series kept her gender undefined by sticking to initials. Beyond that, when she moved on to a different series, she opted for a fully masculine name: Robert Galbraith.
“J.K. Rowling continues to write The Cormoran Strike series under the name of Robert Galbraith to maintain the distinction from her other writing,” explains the site.
In light of the continued practice of selecting pen names to associate with particular genres even when the author makes no secret of her real identity, we should not reduce all choices of names to a forced choice but see it for what it is: the author’s equivalent of a stage name.
Like Harry Houdini who was born Erik Weisz, George Eliot had her selected name inscribed above her given name on her grave. Those were the names they created for themselves and wished to be remembered by.
