Throughout history, various works have been published anonymously, often due to their political or controversial nature. This is a list of works
published anonymouslyAnonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the United States it is legally defined as "a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author."...
, either attributed to "
AnonymousAnonymous may refer to:*Anonymity, the state where a person's name and other personally identifying information is not known*Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author...
", or with no specific author's name given. For works where a
pseudonymA pseudonym is a fictitious name used by a person, or sometimes, a group.Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other...
was used, see instead the
list of works published under a pseudonym.
- Cantar de Mio Cid
El Cantar de Mio Cid , also known in English as The Lay of the Cid, is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem . The Spanish medievalist Ramón Menéndez Pidal included the "Cantar de Mío Cid" in the popular tradition he termed the mester de juglaría...
- Numerous religious texts, including parts of The Bible.
- Beowulf
Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden...
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his...
- The Second Shepherds' Play
The Second Shepherds' Play is a famous medieval mystery play which is contained in the manuscript HM1, the unique manuscript of the Wakefield Cycle. It gained its name from the fact that in the manuscript it immediately follows another nativity play involving the shepherds...
- Scolica enchiriadis
Scolica enchiriadis is an anonymous ninth-century music theory treatise and commentary on its companion work, the Musica enchiriadis. These treatises were once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted....
ninth-century music theory treatise and commentary on its companion work, the Musica enchiriadisMusica enchiriadis is an anonymous musical treatise from the 9th century. It is the first surviving attempt to establish a system of rules for polyphony in western music. The treatise was once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted. Some historians attribute it to Odo of Cluny...
- The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 August 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Aethelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the Anglo-Saxons against a Viking invasion, which ended in defeat...
10th century
- Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan from 11th Century Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum is a record of early Hungarian history by an unknown author who describes himself as Anonymus Bele Regis Notarius , but is generally cited as "Anonymous"...
, and early Hungarian history written in the 12th century
- The Secret History of the Mongols
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work. It was written for the Mongol royal family some time after Genghis Khan's death in AD 1227, by an anonymous author and probably originally in the Uyghur script, though the surviving texts all derive from...
13th century
- St. Erkenwald
St. Erkenwald is an alliterative poem of the fourteenth century, thought to have been composed in 1386. It has sometimes been attributed to the Pearl poet . It takes as its subject Erkenwald, the bishop of London between 675 and 693....
14th century
- The pasquinade
Pasquinade refers to an anonymous lampoon, whether in verse or in prose. Pasquin was the name ordinary Romans gave to a battered ancient statue dug up in the course of paving the Parione district and erected at the corner of Piazza di Pasquino and Palazzo Braschi, on the...
s (satirical poems) glued to the Talking Statues of RomeThe talking statues of Rome provided an outlet for a form of anonymous political expression in Rome. Criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were posted on well-known statues in Rome. It was begun in the 16th century and continues to the present day...
.
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Throughout history, various works have been published anonymously, often due to their political or controversial nature. This is a list of works
published anonymouslyAnonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the United States it is legally defined as "a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author."...
, either attributed to "
AnonymousAnonymous may refer to:*Anonymity, the state where a person's name and other personally identifying information is not known*Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author...
", or with no specific author's name given. For works where a
pseudonymA pseudonym is a fictitious name used by a person, or sometimes, a group.Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other...
was used, see instead the
list of works published under a pseudonym.
Early classics
- Cantar de Mio Cid
El Cantar de Mio Cid , also known in English as The Lay of the Cid, is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem . The Spanish medievalist Ramón Menéndez Pidal included the "Cantar de Mío Cid" in the popular tradition he termed the mester de juglaría...
- Numerous religious texts, including parts of The Bible.
- Beowulf
Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden...
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his...
- The Second Shepherds' Play
The Second Shepherds' Play is a famous medieval mystery play which is contained in the manuscript HM1, the unique manuscript of the Wakefield Cycle. It gained its name from the fact that in the manuscript it immediately follows another nativity play involving the shepherds...
- Scolica enchiriadis
Scolica enchiriadis is an anonymous ninth-century music theory treatise and commentary on its companion work, the Musica enchiriadis. These treatises were once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted....
ninth-century music theory treatise and commentary on its companion work, the Musica enchiriadisMusica enchiriadis is an anonymous musical treatise from the 9th century. It is the first surviving attempt to establish a system of rules for polyphony in western music. The treatise was once attributed to Hucbald, but this is no longer accepted. Some historians attribute it to Odo of Cluny...
- The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 August 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Aethelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the Anglo-Saxons against a Viking invasion, which ended in defeat...
10th century
- Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan from 11th Century Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum is a record of early Hungarian history by an unknown author who describes himself as Anonymus Bele Regis Notarius , but is generally cited as "Anonymous"...
, and early Hungarian history written in the 12th century
- The Secret History of the Mongols
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work. It was written for the Mongol royal family some time after Genghis Khan's death in AD 1227, by an anonymous author and probably originally in the Uyghur script, though the surviving texts all derive from...
13th century
- St. Erkenwald
St. Erkenwald is an alliterative poem of the fourteenth century, thought to have been composed in 1386. It has sometimes been attributed to the Pearl poet . It takes as its subject Erkenwald, the bishop of London between 675 and 693....
14th century
15th century
- The pasquinade
Pasquinade refers to an anonymous lampoon, whether in verse or in prose. Pasquin was the name ordinary Romans gave to a battered ancient statue dug up in the course of paving the Parione district and erected at the corner of Piazza di Pasquino and Palazzo Braschi, on the...
s (satirical poems) glued to the Talking Statues of RomeThe talking statues of Rome provided an outlet for a form of anonymous political expression in Rome. Criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were posted on well-known statues in Rome. It was begun in the 16th century and continues to the present day...
. They still appear from time to time.
- The Skibby Chronicle
The Skibby Chronicle is a Danish Latin chronicle from the 1530s found in the church of Skibby in North Zealand. It is anonymous but according to all historians the author is the outstanding humanist Poul Helgesen...
, an anonymous Danish Latin chronicle from the 1530s.
- La Farce de maître Pierre Pathelin
La Farce de maître Pierre Pathelin is a fifteenth-century anonymous medieval farce written originally in French. It was extraordinarily popular in its day, and held an influence on popular theatre for over a century...
(The Farce of Master Pierre Pathelin) popular French medieval farce
- Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is a romance by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing...
, published anonymously at the time, now considered likely to have been written by Francesco ColonnaFrancesco Colonna , was an Italian Dominican priest and monk who was credited with the authorship of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by an acrostic in the text.He lived in Venice, and preached at St. Mark's Cathedral...
.
- The Voynich manuscript
The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious, undeciphered illustrated book. It is thought to have been written in the 15th or 16th century. The author, script, and language of the manuscript remain unknown....
, authorship and meaning unknown.
16th century
- The Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan
The Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan is a historical document dating from the 16th century, one of the few surviving contemporary Spanish accounts from the period of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and central Mexico .The author of the document is...
, an account of Hernan CortesHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
' conquest of the AztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Often the term...
capital of Tenochtitlan--Please DO NOT change the spelling of "Tenochtitlan" to "Tenochtitlán"There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán", like San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, in which case the accent is used. However, the Aztec capital is not spelled that way in either Spanish --Please DO NOT change the...
, attributed to "A Companion of Hernan Cortes, the Anonymous Conqueror".
17th century
- The entire catalog of Pierre Marteau
Pierre Marteau , was the imprint of a supposed publishing house. Allegedly located in Cologne from the 17th century onward, contemporaries were well aware that such a publishing house never actually existed...
.
- All works published after 1788 by Sylvain Maréchal
Sylvain Maréchal was a French essayist, poet, philosopher, and, as a political theorist, precursor of utopian socialism and communism...
.
18th century
- An Essay on the Principle of Population
The book An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798 through J. Johnson .The author was soon identified as The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus....
by Thomas Robert Malthus (originally published anonymously)
- Anti-Machiavel
Anti-Machiavel is an 18th century essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia and patron of Voltaire, rebutting The Prince, the 16th century book by Niccolò Machiavelli, and Machiavellianism in general...
, an essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, first published in 1740
- Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , originally The Story of the Stone , is a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and one of China's Four Great Classical Novels...
by Cao XueqinCao Xueqin is the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, believed by many to be the greatest novel written in the Chinese language...
, originally published anonymously
- The Sorrows of Yamba, or The Negro Woman's Lamentation
19th century
- The Turkish nationalist poet, translator, journalist, and social reformer Namık Kemal
Namık Kemal, born as Mehmed Kemal was a Turkish nationalist poet, novelist, playwright, journalist, translator and social reformer. Namık Kemal greatly influenced the Young Turk and Turkish nationalist movements and contributed to the Modernization of the Turkish language...
often published anonymously.
- Tamerlane and Other Poems
Tamerlane and Other Poems is the first published work by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The short collection of poems was first published in 1827. Today, it is believed only 12 copies of the collection still exist....
was the first published collection of poems by Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
, published anonymously in 1827.
- A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder is the most popular book by James De Mille. It was serialized posthumously and anonymously in Harper's Weekly,...
by James De MilleJames De Mille was a professor at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, and an early Canadian popular writer who published numerous works of popular fiction from the late 1860s through the 1870s....
, originally published anonymously after the author's death.
- The Log-Cabin Lady: An Anonymous Autobiography
- The Princess Ilsée: A Fairy Tale (London: Saunders, Otley, and Co., 1867), illust. by Eugène Froment
- Supernatural Religion: An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation
Walter Richard Cassels is the speculated author of the anonymous work Supernatural Religion.-Biography:...
(Longmans & Co.: London, 1874)
- Democracy
Democracy: An American Novel is a political novel written by Henry Brooks Adams and published anonymously in 1880. Only after the writer's death in 1918 did his publisher reveal Adams's authorship although, upon publication, the novel had immediately become popular.In January 2005, the Washington...
published in 1880, author (Henry AdamsHenry Brooks Adams was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best-known for his autobiographical book, The Education of Henry Adams. He was a member of the Adams political family.- Early life :...
) revealed after his death in 1918.
- Romance of Lust
The Romance of Lust, or Early Experiences is a Victorian erotic novel published anonymously in four volumes during the years 1873–1876 by William Lazenby. Henry Spencer Ashbee, bibliophile, bibliographer, merchant, and expert on the writer Cervantes, discusses this novel in one of his...
, Victorian erotic novel published anonymously in four volumes (1873-1876) and variously attributed to Edward SellonEdward Sellon was an English writer, translator and illustrator of erotic literature. He is one of two likely candidates for authorship of the erotic novel The Romance of Lust. He certainly wrote other erotic novels and a book on snake worship.Sellon joined the army at age 16 and served in India...
or William Simpson PotterWilliam Simpson Potter was a minor 19th century English author. From available information, it appears that Potter was a friend of Henry Spencer Ashbee, merchant, bibliographer, bibliophile, authority on the life and works of Cervantes, and collector of erotic materials.According to the...
, although a stronger case can be made for Potter as the author.
- Elizabeth and Her German Garden
Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1898; it was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century....
, published anonymously in 1898, a humorous semi-autobiographical idyll, the first book by Elizabeth von ArnimElizabeth von Arnim , born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an Australian born British novelist. By marriage she became Gräfin von Arnim-Schlagenthin, and by a second marriage, Countess Russell...
. Her later books were published as "By the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden".
- The Way of a Pilgrim
The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of a 19th century anonymous Russian work, detailing the narrator's journey across the country while discovering practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia. It came to a remote monastery in Greece in the...
Russian
20th century
- The Autobiography of a Flea
The Autobiography of a Flea is a Victorian era erotic novel published under the name Anonymous in 1901 in London.The book was adapted into a 1976 pornographic film ....
erotic novel published in 1901.
- The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson is the fictional telling of the story of a young biracial man, referred to only as the “Ex-Colored Man", living in post Reconstruction era America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...
, the story of a young biracial man, was published anonymously in 1912 by James Weldon JohnsonJames Weldon Johnson was an American author, politician, diplomat, critic, journalist, poet, anthologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. He was also one of the...
who revealed himself as the author in 1927.
- The Diary of a U-boat Commander ~1918
- Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl. The book purports to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who died of a drug overdose in the late 1960s and is therefore presented as a testimony against drug use. Alice is not the protagonist's name;...
, now known to have been written by Beatrice SparksBeatrice Sparks is an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who is known for producing books purporting to be the 'real diaries' of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues such as drug abuse, Satanism, teenage pregnancy or AIDS, and are presented as cautionary tales...
.
- A Woman in Berlin
A Woman in Berlin is an account of the period from 20 April to 22 June 1945 in Berlin. At the author's request, the work was published anonymously for her protection. The book purports to detail the writer's experiences as a rape victim during the Red Army occupation of the city...
, an anonymous diary detailing experiences of a German woman as Germany is defeated in World War II.
- Primary Colors
Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics is a 1996 novel by "Anonymous" .-Roman à clef:Primary Colors is a roman à clef inspired by U.S. President Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign in 1992...
, published anonymously but later revealed to be by journalist Joe KleinJoe Klein is a longtime Washington, D.C. and New York journalist and columnist, known for his novel Primary Colors, an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Klein is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim...
.
21st century
- Fighting for Our Lives
Fighting For Our Lives is a pamphlet published by CrimethInc., a U.S. based anarchist collective. According to the authors, this pamphlet "discusses, in simple language, what is anarchist in everyday life, and how those spheres of cooperation can be expanded." Since its initial publication, 600,000...
, an anarchist primerPrimer can refer to:*Primer , a 1995 music album by the musical group Rockapella*Primer , a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth...
published by the CrimethInc collectiveA collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective. Collectives are also characterised by attempts to share and exercise political and social power and to make decisions on a...
. All CrimethInc publications are published anonymously.
- The Bride Stripped Bare
The Bride Stripped Bare is a 2003 novel written by the Australian writer Nikki Gemmell, originally published anonymously. The title is borrowed from the painting The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even by Marcel Duchamp.In 2005, it was announced that Australian screenwriter Andrew Bovell,...
, an erotic novel published in 2003; soon after, the author was revealed as the Australian writer Nikki GemmellNikki Gemmell is an Australian author, best known for anonymously writing the best-selling erotic novel The Bride Stripped Bare....
.
- Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama Bin Laden, Radical Islam and the Future of America (2003) and Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror
Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror is a book originally published anonymously, but later revealed to have been authored by Michael Scheuer, a CIA veteran with 22 years service, who ran the Counterterrorist Center's bin Laden station from 1996 to 1999.Scheuer describes his...
(2004) - both revealed to have been written by former CIA employee Michael ScheuerMichael F. Scheuer is a former CIA employee. In his 22-year career, he served as the Chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station , from 1996 to 1999, the Osama bin Laden tracking unit at the Counterterrorist Center. He then worked again as Special Advisor to the Chief of the bin Laden unit from September...
.
- Recipes for Disaster (2004) - An Anarchist Cookbook published by the CrimethInc collective.
- Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder Inc. is a class 501 non-profit organization which is dedicated to the search of American soldiers who are prisoners of war “POW”/missing in action “MIA”. Rolling Thunder was established in 1987 and incorporated in 1995. All Rolling Thunder members are non-paid including its...
(2005-2008) - five issues of "an anarchist journal of dangerous living" published the CrimethInc collective.
- Houston remains Anonymous (2008) - http://www.anonhouston.com
- Real Life Ren-Gate: Christy Carlson Romano, Censorship, and the Threat to Her Unofficial Fan Sites During the Age of Web 2.0 (2008) - ISBN: 978-0-557-01475-0. An anti-copyright
Anti-copyright refers to the complete or partial opposition to prevalent copyright laws. Copyright is known as the author's rights for copies to be only made by the author or with his/her authorization in form of a license....
publication on the discouragement from the official sites of Christy Carlson RomanoChristy Carlson Romano is an American stage and film actress, author and singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the sitcom Even Stevens and the animated series Kim Possible, in which she is the voice of the title character, as well as garnering a considerable boost in fandom for...
toward fan transformative works under "fair useFair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another...
" doctrine.
External links
- See http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu to find some of these texts on the web.