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Re:‘George Eliot’ joins 24 female authors making debuts unde... by rsynnott on Friday August 14, 2020 @08:26AM (#24156982)
I mean, in some cases it's going to be ambiguous. But in most cases it was likely because it was extremely difficult to be published as a women at the time.
Re:‘George Eliot’ joins 24 female authors making debuts unde... by goto11 on Friday August 14, 2020 @10:57AM (#24158734)
> But in most cases it was likely because it was extremely difficult to be published as a women at the time.

I don't think that is true, since the publishers knew the identity of the authors (as far as I know). And there are some examples of women authors being very successful (e.g. Harriet Beecher Stowe).

It is more likely they used a male pseudonym because they didn't want prejudice against women and women literature to affect reviewers and readers, and/or they wanted to protect their privacy (and reputation, if they were writing about scandalous subjects).