I thought Enid was a man

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 18 Feb 2010, 14:56

Not to mention Evelyn Waugh!

Ming · Post by **Ming** » 18 Feb 2010, 15:12

Moonraker wrote:And of course there is that well known authoress, George Eliot.

George Eliot was a female?!

Katharine · Post by **Katharine** » 18 Feb 2010, 15:14

I thought the Just William books were written by a man too, but that's because I didn't read the author's name properly and thought it was Richard!

I believe I heard somewhere that J.K. Rowling was advised to use her initials instead of calling herself Joanne as it would be easier to persuade boys to read the books if they assumed they were written by a man rather than a woman - so much for the equal opportunities of the 1990s.

I always knew that Enid was woman's name, but then I'm sure I probably had a great aunt somewhere in the family by that name, we certainly had plenty of other names which are unheard of nowadays.

The only Enid I've come across recently is a character in The Worst Witch TV programmes.

Wayne Pyer · Post by **Wayne Pyer** » 18 Feb 2010, 16:26

Ming wrote:
Moonraker wrote:And of course there is that well known authoress, George Eliot.
George Eliot was a female?!

I think she used a male name because female authors were not taken very seriously at that time.

sixret · Post by **sixret** » 18 Feb 2010, 16:33

I really thought Val McDermid is a man for quite some time until I read her bio in her website!

Moonraker · Post by **Moonraker** » 18 Feb 2010, 19:44

And don't even mention Val Biro...

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 18 Feb 2010, 20:26

Moonraker wrote:And don't even mention Val Biro...

It's not only his first name that could cause difficulty - I used to think his surname was pronounced like the pen!

I always found it odd, when watching The Waltons, that the woman who played the mother (Olivia) was called Michael Learned in real life. Apparently, her parents had wanted a boy and had picked out the name Michael before the baby was born. When they had a girl, they used the name anyway!

Timmy254 · Post by **Timmy254** » 18 Feb 2010, 21:39

Anita Bensoussane wrote:When they had a girl, they used the name anyway!

Oh my, poor Michael Learned!

When I was a child I couldn't make out Enid's signature and I asked my mum several times what it means. I just couldn't memorise that name!

But I knew that Enid Blyton was a woman because my mum had told me.

Viv of Ginger Pop · Post by **Viv of Ginger Pop** » 19 Feb 2010, 00:32

A company that thought they'd like to do some marketing for me didn't when one of their Directors wrote to me about Enid Blighton...

Viv

Lenoir · Post by **Lenoir** » 19 Feb 2010, 07:24

Lucky Star wrote: By the way congratulations Enikyoga on making a post that did not feature the dreaded words in my b...............

To be fair, some others have mentioned the book a few times as well.

Moonraker · Post by **Moonraker** » 19 Feb 2010, 17:43

Lenoir wrote:
Lucky Star wrote: By the way congratulations Enikyoga on making a post that did not feature the dreaded words in my b...............
To be fair, some others have mentioned the book a few times as well.

Fair point, well made, Lenoir! Personally, I enjoy reading Stephen's anecdotes about his anecdotage.

Wayne Pyer · Post by **Wayne Pyer** » 19 Feb 2010, 18:23

Fair point, well made, Lenoir! Personally, I enjoy reading Stephen's anecdotes about his anecdotage.

[/quote]
Me to. I devote an entire chapter to them in my new book i'm writing 'blatant book plugs: a personal anecdotage.'

Lucky Star · Post by **Lucky Star** » 19 Feb 2010, 21:39

Lenoir wrote:
Lucky Star wrote: By the way congratulations Enikyoga on making a post that did not feature the dreaded words in my b...............
To be fair, some others have mentioned the book a few times as well.

Good point but only Enikyoga has mentioned it in just about every post hes ever made.

Lenoir · Post by **Lenoir** » 20 Feb 2010, 12:00

So many replies. And I didn’t even mention any names.

Wayne Pyer · Post by **Wayne Pyer** » 20 Feb 2010, 13:21

Lenoir wrote:So many replies. And I didn’t even mention any names.

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