Literature · 2

Which crime novelist secretly wrote romance novels under the pen name Mary Westmacott?

Answer

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie published six romance novels as Mary Westmacott between 1930 and 1956, keeping the authorship secret for years, even from her own publisher.

💡 Did you know?

Agatha Christie's pen name Mary Westmacott fooled critics for years; even her publisher didn't initially know they were the same person.

Other options people guess

  • Dorothy L. Sayers
  • Ngaio Marsh
  • Josephine Tey

Topics

  • pen-names
  • agatha-christie
  • authors
  • mystery

Know your literature trivia?

Play a free Literature quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.

More Literature facts

Literature

Nora Roberts writes her futuristic 'In Death' crime series under which pen name?

Nora Roberts writes her futuristic 'In Death' murder mysteries as J.D. Robb, publishing her romance novels under her own name to keep the two apart.

Literature

Which bestselling romance author uses the pseudonym J.D. Robb for her crime fiction so retailers shelve the books separately?

Nora Roberts writes romance under the pen name J.D. Robb, keeping the identities separate so bookstores stock them in different sections.

Literature

Which British writer created the aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, a mainstay of Golden Age detective fiction?

Dorothy L. Sayers, creator of Lord Peter Wimsey, earned more money from detective fiction than from all her academic and religious writings combined.

Literature

Which British statesman won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature, largely for his historical writing and oratory rather than fiction?

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Winston Churchill for his speeches and histories, not fiction—making him unique among winners for prose celebrating war and politics.

Literature

Which Charles Dickens novel features the character Miss Havisham, a wealthy recluse who stopped all the clocks on her wedding day?

Dickens originally wrote a different, unhappy ending for Great Expectations, but rewrote it after a friend argued readers would prefer a more hopeful conclusion.

Literature

In what year did Derek Walcott win the Nobel Prize in Literature, despite a sexual assault allegation from a decade earlier resurfacing in public discussion?

Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize for Literature while facing a sexual assault allegation in 1982; the controversy resurfaced decades later, dividing literary institutions.