Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms - Softcover

Ciuraru, Carmela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061735272 ISBN 13: 9780061735271

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2012

Synopsis

MaryAnne Evans. Charles Dodgson. Eric Blair. William Sydney Porter. Or, as they aremore commonly remembered, George Eliot, Lewis Carroll, George Orwell, and O.Henry. For these writers and many others, from Mark Twain to Stan Lee to RobertJordan, the invocation of a nom de plume has been an essential part inthe creation of an authorial identity. Now, in a captivating series ofbiographical snapshots exploring the lives of famous authors and their pennames, author Carmela Ciuraru delivers a unique literaryhistory and a penetrating examination of identity, creativity, andself-creation, revisiting the enduring question--what's in a name?

About this title

Review

"Engaging without being breezy, informative without being pedantic, these essays offer insightful, fascinating literary portraits without the solemness and heft of so many literary biographies. Ciuraru gets to the essence of their lives efficiently and evocatively, which makes for pleasant and piquant summer literary non-fiction."--The Reading Ape Blog

"Fascinating, lively, and fun - you can't do much better than to read about George Sand, born Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, who adopted a swaggering male persona to go along with the name."--Boston Globe

"Ciuraru's treatments of her subjects sparkle with rich, well-arranged detail and the sly wit of literary hindsight. With a central focus that remains urgent and appealing for 21st century readers even as it dissects the personal lives of authors long past, Nom de Plume is surely an important book."--Chelsea Now Magazine

."..'Nom de Plume' is part detective story, part expos?, part literary history, and an absorbing psychological meditation on identity and creativity. It's a delightful book."--Huntington News

"What to make of the paradox that some of the boldest writers have hidden behind pen names? Carmela Ciuraru has performed a valuable service in examining the phenomenon through her charming, sprightly, and illuminating biographical essays."--Phillip Lopate

"Our curator is always having fun in 'Nom De Plume, ' and, as a result, so are we."--Jewish Daily Forward

"Ciuraru builds each history as its own personal story, then builds the literary charm and genius behind the pathos, ... a tale of literary genius all its own."--Los Angeles Times

"With description that captures the imagination, Nom de Plume is what nonfiction should be - accessible, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining."--Christian Science Monitor

."..Ciuraru, a freelance literary journalist, writes well and has a fully functioning sense of humor, so "Nom de Plume" is a pleasure to read..."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

"Stories of self-invention are always interesting to read about, especially in Carmela Ciuraru's Nom de Plume. Ciuraru's book presents a persuasive argument that the generative powers of the pseudonym should persist."--The Daily

From the Back Cover

Exploring the fascinating stories of more than a dozen authorial impostors across several centuries and cultures, Carmela Ciuraru plumbs the creative process and the darker, often crippling aspects of fame.

Only through the protective guise of Lewis Carroll could a shy, half-deaf Victorian mathematician at Oxford feel free to let his imagination run wild. The "three weird sisters" from Yorkshire--the Brontes--produced instant bestsellers that transformed them into literary icons, yet they wrote under the cloak of male authorship. Bored by her aristocratic milieu, a cigar-smoking, cross-dressing baroness rejected the rules of propriety by having sexual liaisons with men and women alike, publishing novels and plays under the name George Sand. Highly accessible and engaging, these provocative stories reveal the complex motives of writers who harbored secret identities--sometimes playfully, sometimes with terrible anguish and tragic consequences. Part detective story, part expose, part literary history, Nom de Plume is an absorbing psychological meditation on identity and creativity.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0061735272
• ISBN 13: 9780061735271
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400