17 August 2020
The Women's Prize for Fiction recently debuted an upcoming project which will mark the 25th anniversary of the prize: an initiative called "Reclaim Her Name" (#ReclaimHerName) which republishes famous works by twenty-five female authors who published under male nom-de-plumes in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including George Eliot, George Sand, Vernon Lee, and Arnold Petri. The thing is, the initiative is republishing these books using the authors' given, female names, rather than their male pseudonyms. Many have applauded this initiative. No. Stop applauding. Stop applauding now.