Volume 1

Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous English literature / Samuel Halkett and John Laing.

  • Samuel Halkett
Date:
1926-[1962]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous English literature / Samuel Halkett and John Laing. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “ M. L’Abbe Bossut” (The first French and English grammar), as well as other designations now difficult to discover. More recently, Charles Grant Blairfindie Allan placed before the public several works bearing his own name; but as “ Cecil Power,” he issued two novels (Ahilistia and Babylon); as “ Olive Pratt Reyner,” he published Rosallan, and under the disguise of “Martin Leach Warborough,” he produced Tom, unlimited. Alexander Hay Japp sent out several works showing his real name, but also modified this as “H. A. Page ” in bringing out his Memoir of Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Life of De Quincey, and other volumes; as “ E. Conder Gray,” he wrote Wise words and loving deeds; as “ A. F. Scot” [ ? A Forfarshire Scot], he composed Lilith and Adam, a poem; Her part, a novel, was laid before the public as ostensibly the work of “ A. N. Mount Rose,” a designation probably suggested by the fact that he was born near Montrose. Considerable confusion has inevitably resulted from the fact that the self-same pseudonym has been adopted by more than one author; hence, readers who, after learning the real name of only one of the writers using the same pseudonym must be excused, until they learn the whole truth, if they attribute to one and the same person all works on which the veiling name appears. “ Owen Hall ” has been adopted as their pen-name by two modern writers; fortunately, each confines himself to a distinct line of work, so that they can easily be distinguished. James Davis is a dramatist, who has issued Flodora, and The Gaiety-girl, musical comedies; while H. . . H. . . Lusk is a novelist, who has already produced Eureka, The track of a storm, Jetsam, and other works. Further, it seems that there are at least three different persons, each with some ground for taking “ George Douglas ” as his or her pseudonym : one is Lady Gertrude Georgina Douglas, who has given us two novels, Brown as a berry, and The red house by the river; another is Mrs George Ferme {nee Douglas), of Haddington, also a novelist, who wrote Tib; the third is George Douglas Brown, the author of The house with the green shutters. A much more difficult task is to determine correctly the works of several persons who have written as “ Peter Parley.” The original “ Peter ” was certainly Samuel Griswold Goodrich, who provided juvenile readers with most interesting material in Faggots for the fireside; or, tales of fact and fancy, A grammar of modern geography, Make the best of it, A Book of anecdotes, Illustrations of astronomy, etc. But his phenomenal success induced other writers to enter the same field, using the same pseudonym: one of these was William Martin, who wrote Peter Parley's Annual, Our Oriental Kingdom; or, tales about India, Stories from sea and land, etc.; another was George Mogridge, the author of Tales about shipwrecks and disasters at sea, Tales about Great Britain and Ireland, etc.; still another was probably