Reclaim Her Name: 25 Female writers to be published with real names on the cover

Creative agency VMLY&R was involved in the selection of the books, picking cover art and promotion of the Reclaim Her Name initiative.

Throughout history, female writers have written under male pseudonyms for many reasons, often as the only way for their work to be published and given the attention it deserves. In collaboration with Women’s Prize for Fiction, Baileys is re-releasing 25 classic works with the author’s true names on the cover, giving them the visibility and credit they deserve. The Reclaim Her Name initiative will see 25 novels re-released and available for free.

Devised in collaboration with leading consumer creative agency, VMLY&R, the team carefully selected each of the 25 books, searching archives, online and university resources to identify female writers who disguised their gender with pseudonyms.

All the works in the series have received a beautiful modern cover design update from an inspiring selection of 13 female illustrators all over the world, including Brazil, Russia, Jordan and Germany.

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Women’s Prize for Fiction Founder Director Kate Mosse said, "Baileys has been a sponsor of the Women’s Prize for Fiction for many years now and together we have been dedicated to honouring, celebrating and championing women's writing. Together, we’re incredibly excited by the Reclaim Her Name campaign – it’s a lovely way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Prize, by doing what we always strive to do – empowering women, igniting conversations and ensuring that they get the recognition they deserve."

"Many of the authors we selected were suffragettes and staunch feminists. I’d like to think of this project as our way of thanking them for what they did for us — and of supporting a new generation of artists through the new cover art that 13 inspiring female illustrators, from all over the world, created for the Reclaim Her Name collection," added Tamryn Kerr, Creative Director, VMLY&R.

The books included in the collection are listed below:

1. Middlemarch - Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)
2. Marie of the Cabin Club - Ann Petry (Arnold Petri)
3. Indiana - Amantine Aurore Dupin (George Sand)
4. A Phantom Lover - Violet Paget (Vernon Lee)
5. The Life of Martin R. Delany - Frances Rollin Whipper (Frank A. Rollin)
6. Keynotes - Mary Bright (George Egerton)
7. Takekurabe ("Growing Up") - Natsu Higuchi (Ichiyō Higuchi)
8. Garden of Kama - Violet Nicolson (Laurence Hope)
9. How White Men Assist In Smuggling… - Edith Maude Eaton (Mahlon T. Wing)
10. Attila, My Attila! - Edith Cooper & Katherine Bradley (Michael Field)
11. Ye Game and Playe of Chesse - Alice Dunbar Nelson (Monroe Wright)
12. Painted Clay - Doris Boake Kerr (Capel Boake)
13. For Our Country - Fatemeh Soltan Khanum Farahani (Shahein Farahani)
14. Iras: A Mystery - Henrietta Everett (Theo Douglas)
15. The History of Sir Richard Calmady - Mary Kingsley (Lucas Malet)
16. Atla - Story of a Lost Island - Ann Smith (J Gregory Smith)
17. Twilight - Julia Frankau (Frank Danby)
18. The Silence Of Dean Maitland - Mary Tuttiett (Maxwell Gray)
19. The Head Of Medusa - Julia Constance Fletcher (George Fleming)
20. Some Emotions and a Moral - Pearl Richards (John Oliver Hobbes)
21. Cecilia De Noël - Mary Hawker (Lanoe Falconer)
22. Echoes from Mist-land - Aubertine Woodward Moore (Auber Forestier)
23. Valerie Aylmer - Frances Tiernan (Christian Reid)
24. A Diplomat's Diary - Julia Cruger (Julien Gordon)
25. The Roadmender - Margaret Fairless Barber (Michael Fairless)