The Reclaim Her Name Project Is Set To Publish Classic Female Authors Under Their Real Names

When the first Harry Potter novel was published, its writer, Joanne Rowling, chose to go by a more unisex-sounding name: J.K. Rowling. She’s not the first author to adopt an ambiguous—or even flat-out male—persona on her own books’ covers. It’s happened all throughout history, from Middlemarch by George Eliot and Marie of the Cabin Club by Arnold Petri.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Reclaim Her Name project is re-releasing a collection of books, publishing classic female authors under their real names for the very first time.

The books include the aforementioned Middlemarch and Marie of the Cabin Club, which were written by Mary Ann Evans and Ann Petry, respectively. Other books include The Life of Martin R Delaney, by Frances Rollin Whipper (originally Frank A Rollin) and Keynotes, by Mary Bright (originally George Egerton).

“This was about looking back to the women in whose footsteps we walk—the way that other women did get their work into print or couldn’t get their work into print. It’s just such a joyous idea,” says Kate Mosse, the novelist who founded the Women’s Prize in 1995, as per The Mary Sue. 

The collection is available to download for free.