Later revealed
Works first published anonymously whose authors are now part of the documented public record. Each entry names the author, the year of the reveal where recorded, how the reveal happened, and the source.
29 works, ordered by publication date.
- Later revealed
American Writers
John Neal's 1824 to 1825 survey of American authors, published in Blackwood's Magazine under the signature X.Y.Z. The first history of American literature, attributed and documented.
- Later revealed
Anti-Machiavel
Frederick the Great's 1740 rebuttal of Machiavelli's The Prince, published anonymously by Voltaire. The royal authorship was an open secret from the start.
- Later revealed
Brother Jonathan: or, the New Englanders
John Neal's 1825 novel of New England life, published anonymously in Edinburgh. The attribution to Neal is documented in scholarship on the author.
- Later revealed
Logan
John Neal's 1822 Gothic novel of frontier violence and revenge, published anonymously in Baltimore. The attribution is documented in Neal scholarship.
- Later revealed
Skibby Chronicle
A sixteenth century Danish chronicle found walled up in Skibby church, written anonymously. Scholarship identifies the Carmelite Poul Helgesen as its author.
- Later revealed
Supernatural Religion: An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation
The anonymous 1874 critique of the New Testament's miracle evidence that convulsed Victorian theology. Walter Richard Cassels was identified in his lifetime.
- Later revealed
The Sorrows of Yamba
A 1795 abolitionist poem in the voice of an enslaved African woman, published anonymously in the Cheap Repository Tracts. Hannah More's authorship is documented.
- Later revealed
Common Sense (pamphlet)
The January 1776 pamphlet that made the case for American independence, signed only 'an Englishman'. Thomas Paine acknowledged authorship within months.
- Later revealed
Dream of the Red Chamber
China's great eighteenth century novel of the Jia family's rise and fall, circulated anonymously in manuscript. Cao Xueqin's authorship was established by modern scholarship.
- Later revealed
An Essay on the Principle of Population
The 1798 treatise arguing population growth outruns subsistence, published anonymously. Its author, T. R. Malthus, put his name to the expanded 1803 second edition.
- Later revealed
Fantasmagoriana
The anonymous 1812 French anthology of German ghost stories that the Byron-Shelley circle read in 1816, sparking Frankenstein. Its translator-compiler was Jean-Baptiste Benoit Eyries.
- Later revealed
Tales of the Dead
The anonymous 1813 English ghost story anthology drawn from Fantasmagoriana, translated and edited by Sarah Elizabeth Utterson, with a story of her own added.
- Later revealed
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of the scientist and his creature, published anonymously with a preface by Percy Shelley. Her name appeared on the 1823 second edition.
- Later revealed
Seventy-Six
John Neal's 1823 novel of the Revolutionary War, credited on its title page to 'the author of Logan'. The attribution to Neal is documented.
- Later revealed
Tamerlane and Other Poems
Edgar Allan Poe's 1827 debut, credited only to 'a Bostonian'. Around a dozen copies survive of the most valuable anonymous debut in American letters.
- Later revealed
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
The 1844 evolutionary sensation that prepared the ground for Darwin, published with elaborate secrecy. Robert Chambers was revealed in the 1884 twelfth edition.
- Later revealed
Under the Greenwood Tree
Thomas Hardy's 1872 idyll of the Mellstock parish choir, his second published novel, issued anonymously. Later editions carried his name.
- Later revealed
Democracy
The 1880 satirical novel of Washington power and corruption, published anonymously. Henry Adams's authorship was kept secret until after his death.
- Later revealed
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder
James De Mille's satirical lost-world novel, serialized anonymously in 1888 after the author's death. The attribution is documented in De Mille scholarship.
- Later revealed
Elizabeth and Her German Garden
The 1898 comic journal of a garden and a marriage, published anonymously. Its author became famous as 'Elizabeth', later known as Elizabeth von Arnim.
- Later revealed
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The 1912 novel of a biracial man who passes as white, published anonymously as a memoir. James Weldon Johnson credited himself in the 1927 reissue.
- Later revealed
A Woman in Berlin
An anonymous diary of a woman's survival in Berlin during the Soviet occupation of 1945. The diarist was identified after her death as journalist Marta Hillers.
- Later revealed
Go Ask Alice
The 1971 book marketed as a real teenager's drug diary, credited to Anonymous. It is now documented as the work of Beatrice Sparks.
- Later revealed
Primary Colors
The 1996 roman a clef of a Clintonesque campaign, published as Anonymous. Joe Klein denied authorship, then admitted it six months later.
- Later revealed
The Bride Stripped Bare
The 2003 erotic novel of a wife's secret life, submitted for anonymous publication. The press identified Nikki Gemmell just before publication, and she acknowledged it.
- Later revealed
Through Our Enemies' Eyes
The 2003 study of bin Laden published as 'Anonymous', required by the author's CIA employment. Michael Scheuer was identified and acknowledged the book.
- Later revealed
Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror
The 2004 critique of the war on terror published as 'Anonymous'. Its author was identified in the press as CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who acknowledged the book.
- Later revealed
O: A Presidential Novel
The 2011 novel of a presidential campaign published as by Anonymous, someone 'in the room'. Press analysis identified former McCain aide Mark Salter.
- Later revealed
A Warning
The 2019 book credited to Anonymous, a senior Trump administration official. Miles Taylor revealed himself as the author in 2020.
Other statuses:Still unknown · Pseudonym known · Disputed