That has not always been true. In previous centuries, and even generations, to be a woman was to be second class. Mere chattel to do the bidding and whims of men. Perhaps a minor exception if you were Queen or of high rank but any male in near orbit was assumed to be not your equal, but your better.
But in the history of poetry, plays and stories some of our very finest artistic achievements have been from the brains, hearts and pens of women. Some eventually were published as themselves. As mass distribution of periodicals meant publishers appetite required more stories and a female name might not deter or need to be changed. But not always.
In this volume we discover many who, despite their talents, assumed literary names of men or at best used initials to blur their identities.
George Eliot, Louisa May Alcott, Vernon Lee are but three in a host of many whose lexicons sparkle, whose narrative drive and gilded talents place these women at the forefront of everyone’s literature.
01 - The Women Who Wrote as Men - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction
02 - The Lifted Veil - Part 1 by George Eliot
03 - The Lifted Veil - Part 2 by George Eliot
04 - Perilous Play by Louisa May Alcott writing as A M Bernard
05 - An Irish Problem by Somerville and Ross
06 - Amour Dure - Part 1 by Violet Paget writing as Vernon Lee
07 - Amour Dure - Part 2 by Violet Paget writing as Vernon Lee
08 - An Unexpected Fare by Mary Tuttiett writing as Maxwell Gray
09 - Behind the Curtain by Gertrude Barrows Bennett writing as Francis Stevens
10 - A Lost Masterpiece by Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright writing as George Egerton
11 - The Death Mask by H D Everett writing as Theo Parker
12 - The Lame Priest by Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton
13 - A Rainy Day by Mary Elizabeth Hawker writing as Lanoe Falconer
14 - The Prediction - Part 1 by Mary Diana Dods writing as David Lyndsey
15 - The Prediction - Part 2 by Mary Diana Dods writing as David Lyndsey