Handbook of fictitious names

"Handbook of fictitious names" by Olphar Hamst is a bibliographical reference work written in the late 19th century. It catalogs authors who wrote under assumed names—along with forgers, impostors, and imitators—linking pseudonyms to real identities and offering brief, often pointed notes, sources, and cross-references. The opening of the work presents a transcriber’s note on editorial conventions, followed by notices about an earlier pamphlet on the bibliographer Joseph-Marie Quérard, a dedication to his memory, and epigraphs on literary fraud. A substantial preface explains the book’s novelty in English, its dependence on continental models, its broad scope beyond Britain, and its practical aims; it sets out rules of arrangement (alphabetical by pseudonym), defines “pseudonymous” versus “anonymous,” and introduces a taxonomy of labels (e.g., initialism, titlonym, phrenonym, geonym, demonym), while inviting reader contributions and lamenting the lack of Anglo‑American copyright. A contents list precedes the main entries, which begin immediately—running from A into C—and illustrate the method: each pseudonym is matched to a real name with publication details, asides, and sources, covering figures from Goldsmith, Dickens, and the Brontës to obscure pamphleteers and periodical writers. The sample also includes brief case notes on plagiarism and imposture (e.g., Chatterton, Burke’s Bolingbroke pastiche) and longer illustrative commentary (as in the Robinson Crusoe entry), showing the blend of bibliography, anecdote, and critique that characterizes the compilation’s start.

Handbook of fictitious names, by Olphar Hamst. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77977.