The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-14
Interesting Reasons Why Names
 of Men Are Used by Women

Some interesting reasons why wo- men novelists choose to write under masculine pseudonyms are given by a number of famous English writers as follows:
 Charles Marlowe Miss Harriett Jay) --I write plays under the name of novelist as well as a dramatist, think 1t better to keep the one quite dis tinct from the other.
 My reason for choosing this par ticular name is simple When the idea of using a dramatic nom de plume first occurred to me. I happened to be writing a comedy which was after ward produced at the vaudeville the atre under the title of "Faschination. Thte leading part in this play-that or girl who impersonates boy-1 created myself. and made in 1t great success. The name of the girl was Lady Madge Hazelton." that of the boy Charles Marlowe." I have used the name ever since.
 John Strange Winter (Mrs. Arthur Stanhard)-On the whole. l think 1t Is to woman's disadvantage to write as a man. as it may convey an idea to some people that she is not good enough to stand on her own persopaH- ty.
 The bitter truth was. that my first publishers refused to bring out Cav | airy Life" under a feminine pseudonym I have no doubt they were wise and though I did not relish 1t. l was enough of a Yorkshire woman to rec ognize on which side my bread was | huttered.
 With regard to the actual choice of the pen name. one of the stories In Cavalry Life" was told In the first person, and the character was "Cornet 1 John Strange Winter" After some consideration I thought I could not do better than credit-this imaginary char acter with the other stories also.
 George Frost Mrs. Octavius Eddt- son)-I write under a mans name be- cause I believe a woman's work Is handicapped by the mere fact of her sex The voteless woman witnesses to the injustice of men. an injustice which is dealt to women by editors and publishers in common with other men. The use of a male pen name gives a writer a better chance of pulp lication. and fair payment
 Theo. Gift Mrs. D. Fl. Bulger)- My reasons for taking '"Theo Gift" as psedudonym were simple. When l began to write novels and publish l them-thirty-s years ago-l was young girli and at that date girls were neither as hardened to outside opin- | ions nor as independent of their ell | tempted to make a name for myself in the literary world under my own natronvn1ic and had been i'll received if would have been felt that had dis graced the family name
 So I took a psedonym which after | all, was my own already. My name ts Dorothy. the Anglicised version ot Dorothea or Theodore. which means "Gift of God" I translated ''Dora" into Gift" leaving "Theo" 6rom a sense of modesty which l am sure you will feel was not uncalled for) in the original Latin. and--viola tout!
 It served me well. It was short and simple; and the public and my reviewers treated 1t so kindly. even from its first using till illness laid it l on the shelf, that l have grown to feel a tenderness for it.
 Curtis Yorke (Mrs. S. c. Richmond Lee)-The principal reason that I chose Curtis "Yorke" as a pen name was that T did not want my work to be Judged with the leniency frequent ly accorded to women's work twenty one years ago; but that 1t should be | reviewed either favorably or unfavor- ably on its own merits.
 George Paston. (Mrs E. M. Sy- | monds)-Nearly every review of every novel and every play I have written has begun with some form of this 1 question: "Why do all women writers l take the name of 'George"" It would be about as reasonable to ask: why are all men writers born with the name of 'Benson?" As a matter Of fact, I believe there are fewer women writers with the pseudonym of George than there are men writers with tie family name of Benson.
 When 1 chose the name of George Paston" there was no other female George in the field except George l M before public for some time.
 As Norfolk woman I chose the name of Paston from the little village where the letters come from" But. 1t may be asked. why does a woman prefer to write under a masculine