5 books you didn’t know were written by women
It wasn’t until the late 19th century that women were legally allowed to write books. Lucky for us, many of them did, anyway. Little Women author Louisa May Alcott (A. M. Barnard), Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë (Ellis Bell), and many others disguised their identities on certain works in order to speak their minds. Whether they published anonymously, under a male pen name, or acted as a ghost writer for a male relative, many books we love today were unknowingly authored by women.
Fast forward to 2026. Things have changed (mostly). Credit has now been given to many of those early authors who never received accolades in their lifetime. And while we’ve come a long way, gender-based discrimination still burns in some corners of the literary world. Some authors writing within traditionally male-dominated genres like science fiction or crime fiction have recently used their initials so gender remains ambiguous, or a pen name, including Ursula K. Le Guin (early in career as U. K. Le Guin), Lucy Maud Montgomery (L. M. Montgomery), Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton), James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon), and Robin Hobb (Megan Lindholm).
Every year in March for Women’s History Month, we’re given the opportunity to commemorate and celebrate the vital role these trailblazers played in history. In that spirit, we’re highlighting the real writers behind these five books, from the classics to contemporary, available on the Libby app.
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
Widely considered one of the greatest novels ever written, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life was written by Mary Ann Evans in 1871. Her lover, the philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes, encouraged her to write fiction under the pseudonym to avoid a dismissal of her work. She published other books, but Middlemarch, a criticism of social class, ambition, marriage, and religion, was her most famous.
Mary Poppins
by P. L. Travers
Originally published in 1934, this novel about the world’s most beloved nanny was written by Pamela Lyndon Travers. An Australian-British writer, Travers preferred to stay mostly anonymous throughout her career. Mary Poppins was her first literary success with several sequels that followed. Disney made the book into a film in 1964 starring Julie Andrews.
The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton
Although she goes by her initials, Susan Eloise Hinton published this coming-of-age novel in 1967 having written most of it at the age of 16. Her publisher suggested she use her initials so, like many others that came before, her novel wouldn’t be instantly dismissed simply because of her gender. She continued writing under the name S. E. Hinton due to the success and fame she received from her first novel.
Naked in Death
by J. D. Robb
Ever heard of the New York Times bestselling romance author Nora Roberts? J. D. Robb is the pseudonym for Nora Roberts. She published the first in the In Death series in 1995, a futuristic science fiction police procedural.
City of Dark Magic
by Magnus Flyte
Magnus Flyte, otherwise known as Meg Howrey and Christina Lynch, has written two magical suspense novels: City of Dark Magic (2012) and the sequel, City of Lost Dreams (2013). Despite writing under a male pseudonym, the authors crafted both novels to have strong female characters.
*Title availability may vary.
As we look back on the many brave women who wrote in the shadows but refused to stay silent, it's clear just how much courage it took for them to carve out a space in literature. And today, with female authors topping library charts and filling TBRs, we can celebrate both how far we’ve come and the resilience that got us here.
So as you explore the real women behind these stories, take a moment to honor their legacy. Then keep that momentum going and borrow one of these books on the Libby app!
RELATED READ: 10 timeless books about trailblazing women for Women’s History Month
Published Feb 24, 2023
Last Updated Feb 25, 2026
Annie Suhy
Annie Suhy is the editor of Libby Life. When she’s not working, practicing yoga, or petting cats, she’s doing paint-by-numbers and buying more plants. An avid poetry fan, her favorite collection is The Splinter Factory by Jeffrey McDaniel. She is an Aries.