A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
84-770: Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen ; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen , used in English-speaking countries; Tania Blixen , used in German-speaking countries; Osceola , and Pierre Andrézel . Blixen is best known for Out of Africa , an account of her life while in Kenya , and for one of her stories, Babette's Feast . Each has been adapted as films and each won Academy Awards . She
168-496: A haigō (俳号). The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō had used two other haigō before he became fond of a banana plant ( bashō ) that had been given to him by a disciple and started using it as his pen name at the age of 36. Similar to a pen name, Japanese artists usually have a gō or art-name , which might change a number of times during their career. In some cases, artists adopted different gō at different stages of their career, usually to mark significant changes in their life. One of
252-542: A Swedish author of the 19th century, wrote under the name Ernst Ahlgren. The science fiction author Alice B. Sheldon for many years published under the masculine name of James Tiptree, Jr. , the discovery of which led to a deep discussion of gender in the genre. More recently, women who write in genres commonly written by men sometimes choose to use initials, such as K. A. Applegate , C. J. Cherryh , P. N. Elrod , D. C. Fontana , S. E. Hinton , G. A. Riplinger , J. D. Robb , and J. K. Rowling . Alternatively, they may use
336-462: A close friendship, which eventually became a long-term love affair. In a letter to her brother Thomas in 1924, she wrote: "I believe that for all time and eternity I am bound to Denys, to love the ground he walks upon, to be happy beyond words when he is here, and to suffer worse than death many times when he leaves..." But other letters in her collections show that the relationship was unstable, and that Karen's increasing dependence upon Finch Hatton, who
420-402: A desire to meet Marilyn Monroe , the author Carson McCullers arranged a meeting with Monroe and her husband, the playwright Arthur Miller . Throughout the trip, Blixen played upon her crafted persona as a reclusive aristocrat and an outsider, but also that of an eccentric, who would eat only oysters and grapes, and drink only champagne. It was clear that she was ill, as it was reported that she
504-589: A family of three sisters and two brothers. Her younger brother, Thomas Dinesen , served in the First World War and earned the Victoria Cross. Karen was known to her friends as "Tanne". Dinesen's early years were strongly influenced by her father's relaxed manner and his love of the outdoor life and hunting. He wrote throughout his life and his memoir, Boganis Jagtbreve (Letters from the Hunt) became
588-716: A fortune in Siam , suggested they should go to Kenya to start a coffee farm. He and his sister Ingeborg Dinesen (Karen Dinesen's mother) invested 150,000 Danish crowns in the venture. Early in 1913, Bror left for Kenya. He was followed by his fiancée Karen in December 1913. Soon after Karen Dinesen arrived in Kenya, which at the time was part of British East Africa , she and Blixen were married in Mombasa on 14 January 1914. After her marriage, she became known as Baroness Blixen and she used
672-411: A keen knowledge of the preferred tastes of her audience. Blixen crafted her English tales in a more direct manner and her Danish tales in a 19th-century writing style which she felt would appeal more to them. Because she simultaneously worked on different collections, works written in this period were not published until almost a decade after they were originally written. During World War II, when Denmark
756-605: A minor classic in Danish literature. While in his mid-20s, her father lived among the Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin (August 1872 to December 1873), and fathered a daughter. On returning to Denmark, he suffered from syphilis which resulted in bouts of deep depression. He conceived a child out of wedlock with his maid Anna Rasmussen, and was devastated because he had promised his mother-in-law to remain faithful to his wife. He hanged himself on 28 March 1895 when Karen
840-624: A new scheme in the academy to encourage artisan apprentices to take supplementary classes in drawing so as to develop the notion of "good taste". The building boom resulting from the Great Fire of 1795 greatly profited from this initiative. In 1814 the name was changed again, this time to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts . It is still situated in its original building, the Charlottenborg Palace , located on
924-492: A pen name is used because an author believes that their name does not suit the genre they are writing in. Western novelist Pearl Gray dropped his first name and changed the spelling of his last name to Zane Grey because he believed that his real name did not suit the Western genre. Romance novelist Angela Knight writes under that name instead of her actual name (Julie Woodcock) because of the double entendre of her surname in
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#17327873973611008-566: A shortage of workers and supplies. Nevertheless, in 1916, the Karen Coffee Company purchased a larger farm, Mbogani, near the Ngong Hills to the south–west of Nairobi . The property covered 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of land: 600 acres (240 ha) were used for a coffee plantation, 3,400 acres (1,400 ha) were used by the natives for grazing, and 2,000 acres (810 ha) of virgin forest were left untouched. The land
1092-530: A traditional style of storytelling, weaving Gothic themes such as incest and murder with myth and bewitchment as a means of exploring identity, morality and philosophy. Most also take place against the background of the 19th century or earlier periods. Concerning her deliberately old-fashioned style, Blixen mentioned in several interviews that she wanted to express a spirit that no longer existed in modern times, one of being rather than doing. Her narratives hover between skillfully crafted illusion and romanticism , with
1176-443: A treatment for the syphilis that she thought was the cause of her continued pain. Blixen had reported severe bouts of abdominal pain as early as 1921, while she was still in Kenya. Several well-known physicians and specialists of both internal medicine and neurology diagnosed her with third-stage chronic syphilis . Mogens Fog , who was Blixen's neurologist, thought that her gastric problems were attributable to syphilis, in spite of
1260-460: A unisex pen name, such as Robin Hobb (the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden ). A collective name , also known as a house name , is published under one pen name even though more than one author may have contributed to the series. In some cases, the first books in the series were written by one writer, but subsequent books were written by ghostwriters . For instance, many of
1344-489: Is nom de guerre (a more generalised term for 'pseudonym'). Since guerre means 'war' in French, nom de guerre confused some English speakers, who "corrected" the French metaphor. This phrase precedes "pen name", being attested to The Knickerbocker , in 1841. An author may use a pen name if their real name is likely to be confused with that of another author or other significant individual. For instance, in 1899
1428-513: Is also noted, particularly in Denmark and the US, for her Seven Gothic Tales . Among her later stories are Winter's Tales (1942), Last Tales (1957), Anecdotes of Destiny (1958) and Ehrengard (1963). The latter was adapted as a romantic comedy film Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction , directed by Bille August and in association with Netflix , which released it on streaming in late 2023. Blixen
1512-664: Is difficult to trace the authorship of many earlier literary works from India. Later writers adopted the practice of using the name of their deity of worship or Guru's name as their pen name. In this case, typically the pen name would be included at the end of the prose or poetry. Composers of Indian classical music used pen names in compositions to assert authorship, including Sadarang , Gunarang ( Fayyaz Ahmed Khan ), Ada Rang (court musician of Muhammad Shah ), Sabrang ( Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ), and Ramrang ( Ramashreya Jha ). Other compositions are apocryphally ascribed to composers with their pen names. Japanese poets who write haiku often use
1596-524: Is formed by joining pen with name . Its earliest use in English is in the 1860s, in the writings of Bayard Taylor . The French-language phrase nom de plume is used as a synonym for "pen name" ( plume means 'pen'). However, it is not the French usage, according to H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler in The King's English , but instead a "back-translation" from English. The French usage
1680-462: The Bessie Bunter series of English boarding school stories, initially written by the prolific Charles Hamilton under the name Hilda Richards, was taken on by other authors who continued to use the same pen name. In some forms of fiction, the pen name adopted is the name of the lead character, to suggest to the reader that the book is an autobiography of a real person. Daniel Handler used
1764-645: The Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen . The School of Architecture has been situated in former naval buildings on Holmen since 1996. It teaches and conducts research on the subjects of painting , sculpting , architecture , graphics , photography , performance , and video , as well as in the history of those subjects. The academy is under the administration of the Danish Ministry of Culture . The School of Architecture, Design and Conservation
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#17327873973611848-558: The stereotypes and labels of Europeans and Africans, concluding that "prejudices reveal more about the perceiver than the perceived". The book consists of four tales: "Shadows on the Grass", which focuses on her Somali servant Farah; "Faith is Revealed", which relays the importance of symbolism ; "The Great Gesture", which depicts medical issues in her community; and "Echoes from the Hills", which evaluates her loneliness after leaving Africa and
1932-461: The Armistice, Finch Hatton developed a close friendship with Karen and Bror. He left Africa again in 1920. Against her wishes, Bror and Karen separated in 1921. Finch Hatton often travelled back and forth between Africa and England, and visited Karen occasionally. He returned in 1922, investing in a land development company. After her separation from her husband she and Finch Hatton had developed
2016-600: The Blixen-Fineckes, in Skåne in the south of Sweden. She fell in love with the dashing equestrian baron Hans , but he did not reciprocate. She decided to accept the favours of his twin brother, Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke , and they announced their engagement on 23 December 1912, to the family's surprise. Given the difficulties both were experiencing in settling in Denmark, the family suggested they should move abroad. Karen's uncle, Aage Westenholz (1859–1935) who had made
2100-529: The British politician Winston Churchill wrote under the name Winston S. Churchill to distinguish his writings from those of the American novelist of the same name . An author may use a pen name implying a rank or title which they have never actually held. William Earl Johns wrote under the name "Capt. W. E. Johns" although the highest army rank he held was acting lieutenant and his highest air force rank
2184-477: The French army against Prussia. He later wrote about the Paris Commune . He was from a wealthy family of Jutland landowners closely connected to the monarchy, the established church and conservative politics. He was elected as Member of Parliament. Her mother, Ingeborg Westenholz (1856–1939), came from a wealthy Unitarian bourgeois merchant family of ship owners. Karen Dinesen was the second oldest in
2268-600: The Mattrup seat farm near Horsens . In later years she visited Folehavegård , an estate near Hørsholm that had belonged to her father's family. Longing for the freedom she had enjoyed when her father was alive, she found some satisfaction in telling her younger sister Ellen hair-raising good-night stories, partly inspired by Danish folk tales and Icelandic sagas. In 1905, these led to her Grjotgard Ålvesøn og Aud , in which her literary talent began to emerge. Around this time, she also published fiction in Danish periodicals under
2352-542: The Muthaiga Club to the English big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (1887–1931). Soon afterwards he was assigned to military service in Egypt. By 1919, the marriage had run into difficulties, causing her husband to request a divorce in 1920. Bror was dismissed as the farm manager by their uncle, Aage Westenholz, chair of the Karen Coffee Company, and Karen took over its management in 1921. On his return to Kenya after
2436-651: The Second World War, she helped Jews escape out of German-occupied Denmark. She remained in Rungstedlund for the rest of her life. While still in Kenya, Blixen had written to her brother Thomas, "I have begun to do what we brothers and sisters do when we don't know what else to resort to, I have started to write a book. ... I have been writing in English because I thought it would be more profitable." Upon returning to Denmark, aged 46, she continued writing in earnest. Though her first book, Seven Gothic Tales ,
2520-658: The United States, and publication of the book in the United Kingdom and Denmark followed, though with difficulty. Unable to find a translator she was satisfied with, Blixen prepared the Danish versions herself, though they are not translations, but rather versions of the stories with differing details. Blixen's explanation for the difference was that she "very much wanted it to be published in Danish as an original Danish book, and not in any — no matter how good — translation". The Danish critics were not enthusiastic about
2604-421: The aliases Mark Twain and Sieur Louis de Conte for different works. Similarly, an author who writes both fiction and non-fiction (such as the mathematician and fantasy writer Charles Dodgson, who wrote as Lewis Carroll ) may use a pseudonym for fiction writing. Science fiction author Harry Turtledove has used the name H. N. Turtletaub for some historical novels he has written because he and his publisher felt that
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2688-505: The art of the story is perhaps most directly expressed in the stories "The Blank Page" and "The Cardinal's First Tale" in Last Tales . These tales feature many innuendos, which Blixen employed to force her reader into participating in the creation of the story. She mixed obscure references with explicit observation. Her writing was not just a retelling of tales, however; it was a complex layering of clues and double entendres which force
2772-569: The arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark . The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Copenhagen was inaugurated on 31 March 1754 , and given as a gift to the King Frederik V on his 31st birthday. Its name was changed to the Royal Danish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in 1771. At the same event, Johann Friedrich Struensee introduced
2856-439: The author from retribution for their writings, to merge multiple persons into a single identifiable author, or for any of several reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic presentation of the work. The author's real identity may be known only to the publisher or may become common knowledge. In some cases, such as those of Elena Ferrante and Torsten Krol , a pen name may preserve an author's long-term anonymity . Pen name
2940-454: The author of the Warriors novel series, is a collective pen name used by authors Kate Cary , Cherith Baldry , Tui T. Sutherland , and the editor Victoria Holmes . Collaborative authors may also have their works published under a single pen name. Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee published their mystery novels and stories under the pen name Ellery Queen , which was also used to publish
3024-544: The best-known story of the collection, Blixen explores victimization and oppression. Because of the war, she had to be creative about getting the manuscript published, travelling to Stockholm and meeting with employees at both the American and British embassies. The Americans were unable to ship personal items, but the British embassy agreed, shipping the document to her publisher in the United States. Blixen did not receive further communication about Winter's Tales until after
3108-455: The book and were annoyed, according to Blixen, that it had first been published abroad. Blixen never again published a book in English first. All her later books were either published first in Danish, or published simultaneously in Danish and English. Her second book, now the best known of her works, Out of Africa , was published in 1937. Its success firmly established her reputation. Having learned from her previous experience, Blixen published
3192-585: The book first in Denmark and the United Kingdom, and then in the United States. Garnering another Book-of-the-Month Club choice, Blixen was assured of not only sales for this new work, but also renewed interest in Seven Gothic Tales . She was awarded the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat (a Danish prize for women in the arts or academic life) in 1939. The work brought attention from critics who were concerned not only with literary appraisal of
3276-418: The book to be nominated, but eventually accepted the distinction. The horrors experienced by the young heroines have been interpreted as an allegory of Nazism , though Blixen also denied that interpretation, claiming instead that the novel was a distraction that had helped her to escape the feeling of being imprisoned by the war. In 1956, in an interview for The Paris Review , she finally acknowledged that she
3360-407: The book, but also with defining Blixen's intentions and morality. Post-colonial criticism has linked her with contemporary British writers and in some cases branded her as just another morally bankrupt white European aristocrat. Danish scholars have not typically made judgments about her morality, perhaps understanding that while colonial prejudices and elements of racism are inherent in the work, given
3444-519: The context and era, nevertheless her position as an outsider, a Dane and a woman makes evaluating her more complex. Some critics, including Carolyn Martin Shaw and Raoul Granqvist, have judged her to be a racist and a white supremacist, while other critics, such as Abdul R. JanMohamed, have recognized both her romanticized colonial attitudes and her understanding of colonial problems, as well as her concern and respect for African nationalists. Five years after
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3528-552: The context of that genre. Romain Gary , who was a well-known French writer, decided in 1973 to write novels in a different style under the name Émile Ajar and even asked his cousin's son to impersonate Ajar; thus he received the most prestigious French literary prize twice, which is forbidden by the prize rules. He revealed the affair in a book he sent his editor just before committing suicide in 1980. A pen name may be shared by different writers to suggest continuity of authorship. Thus
3612-560: The disease in her time. It is now believed that some of her later symptoms were the result of heavy metal poisoning . At her farm, she also used to take care of local sick persons, including those suffering from fever, variola , meningitis and typhus. She returned to Denmark in June 1915 for treatment which proved successful. Although Blixen's illness was eventually cured (some uncertainty exists), it created medical anguish for years to come. On 5 April 1918, Bror and Karen were introduced at
3696-645: The end of the name (often marked by a graphical sign ـؔ placed above it) when referring to the poet by his full name. For example, Hafez is a pen-name for Shams al-Din , and thus the usual way to refer to him would be Shams al-Din Hafez or just Hafez . Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (his official name and title) is referred to as Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib , or just Mirza Ghalib . Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( Danish : Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne ) has provided education in
3780-480: The enigmatic twentieth-century novelist B. Traven has never been conclusively revealed, despite thorough research. A multiple-use name or anonymity pseudonym is a pseudonym open for anyone to use and these have been adopted by various groups, often as a protest against the cult of individual creators. In Italy, two anonymous groups of writers have gained some popularity with the collective names of Luther Blissett and Wu Ming . Wuxia novelist Louis Cha uses
3864-427: The fact that blood and spinal fluid tests were negative. By the time she left Africa, Blixen was suffering from anemia , had jaundice and had overused arsenic. As clumps of her hair had begun to fall out, she took to wearing hats and turbans . Pen name A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise the author's gender, to distance the author from their other works, to protect
3948-472: The first time, English became the language she used daily. About the couple's early life in the African Great Lakes region, Karen Blixen later wrote, Here at long last one was in a position not to give a damn for all conventions, here was a new kind of freedom which until then one had only found in dreams! Blixen and her husband were quite different in education and temperament, and Bror Blixen
4032-541: The later books in The Saint adventure series were not written by Leslie Charteris , the series' originator. Similarly, Nancy Drew mystery books are published as though they were written by Carolyn Keene , The Hardy Boys books are published as the work of Franklin W. Dixon , and The Bobbsey Twins series are credited to Laura Lee Hope , although numerous authors have been involved in each series. Erin Hunter ,
4116-523: The most extreme examples of this is Hokusai , who in the period 1798 to 1806 alone used no fewer than six. Manga artist Ogure Ito uses the pen name Oh! great because his real name Ogure Ito is roughly how the Japanese pronounce "oh great". A shâ'er ( Persian from Arabic, for poet) (a poet who writes she'rs in Urdu or Persian ) almost always has a "takhallus", a pen name, traditionally placed at
4200-517: The name "Publius" because it recalled the founder of the Roman Republic and using it implied a positive intention. In pure mathematics , Nicolas Bourbaki is the pseudonym of a group of mostly French-connected mathematicians attempting to expose the field in an axiomatic and self-contained, encyclopedic form. A pseudonym may be used to protect the writer of exposé books about espionage or crime. Former SAS soldier Steven Billy Mitchell used
4284-489: The pen name Gum Yoong (金庸) by taking apart the components of the Chinese character in his given name (鏞) from his birth name Cha Leung-yung (查良鏞). In Indian languages, writers may put a pen name at the end of their names, like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar . Some writers, like Firaq Gorakhpuri , wrote only under a pen name. In early Indian literature, authors considered the use of names egotistical. Because names were avoided, it
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#17327873973614368-419: The presumed lower sales of those novels might hurt bookstore orders for the novels he writes under his name. Occasionally, a pen name is employed to avoid overexposure. Prolific authors for pulp magazines often had two and sometimes three short stories appearing in one issue of a magazine; the editor would create several fictitious author names to hide this from readers. Robert A. Heinlein wrote stories under
4452-442: The pseudonym Andy McNab for his book about a failed SAS mission titled Bravo Two Zero . The name Ibn Warraq ("son of a papermaker") has been used by dissident Muslim authors. Author Brian O'Nolan used the pen names Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen for his novels and journalistic writing from the 1940s to the 1960s because Irish civil servants were not permitted at that time to publish political writings. The identity of
4536-419: The pseudonym George Sand . Charlotte , Emily , and Anne Brontë published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, respectively. French-Savoyard writer and poet Amélie Gex chose to publish as Dian de Jeânna ("John, son of Jane") during the first half of her career. Karen Blixen 's very successful Out of Africa (1937) was originally published under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Victoria Benedictsson ,
4620-731: The pseudonym Lemony Snicket to present his A Series of Unfortunate Events books as memoirs by an acquaintance of the main characters. Some, however, do this to fit a certain theme. One example, Pseudonymous Bosch , used his pen name just to expand the theme of secrecy in The Secret Series . Authors also may occasionally choose pen names to appear in more favorable positions in bookshops or libraries , to maximize visibility when placed on shelves that are conventionally arranged alphabetically moving horizontally, then upwards vertically. Some female authors have used pen names to ensure that their works were accepted by publishers and/or
4704-614: The pseudonym Osceola, the name of her father's dog, which she had often walked in her father's company. In 1898, Dinesen and her two sisters spent a year in Switzerland, where she learned to speak French. In 1902, she attended Charlotte Sode's art school in Copenhagen before continuing her studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Viggo Johansen from 1903 to 1906. In her mid-twenties, she also visited Paris, London and Rome on study trips. While still young, Dinesen spent many of her holidays with her paternal cousin's family,
4788-486: The pseudonyms of Anson MacDonald (a combination of his middle name and his then-wife's maiden name) and Caleb Strong so that more of his works could be published in a single magazine. Stephen King published four novels under the name Richard Bachman because publishers did not feel the public would buy more than one novel per year from a single author. Eventually, after critics found a large number of style similarities, publishers revealed Bachman's true identity. Sometimes
4872-460: The public. Such is the case of Peru's Clarinda , whose work was published in the early 17th century. More often, women have adopted masculine pen names. This was common in the 19th century when women were beginning to make inroads into literature but, it was felt they would not be taken as seriously by readers as male authors. For example, Mary Ann Evans wrote under the pen name George Eliot ; and Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, and Baronne Dudevant, used
4956-646: The publication of Out of Africa , Blixen published a collection of short stories called Winter's Tales (1942; Danish : Vinter-eventyr ). A departure from her previous Gothic works, the stories reflect the starkness of the times, occupation tinged with courage and pride, and hope for the future. The stories do not reflect resistance, but resilience, and explore the interdependence of opposites. She examines shame versus pride in "The Heroine", cowardice and courage in "The Pearls", master and servant in "The Invincible Slave-Owners", and life versus death as well as freedom versus imprisonment in "Peter and Rosa". In "Sorrow-acre",
5040-477: The reader to deduce Blixen's intent and draw conclusions. The story, for Blixen, was vital to expression: it gives a recitation of experience, and simultaneously a potential vision of the possible. Blixen planned for Anecdotes of Destiny to be a final part of the Last Tales in 1953, but as she prepared all the stories, she decided to publish Anecdotes as a separate volume. She wanted both books to appear simultaneously, but because of publication issues Anecdotes
5124-408: The running-board of the car, and a finger in the book, reading out to me a poem we had been discussing. 'Here are your grey geese,' he said. I saw grey geese flying over the flatlands Wild geese vibrant in the high air – Unswerving from horizon to horizon With their soul stiffened out in their throats – And the grey whiteness of them ribboning the enormous skies And the spokes of
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#17327873973615208-412: The same pseudonym; examples include T. H. Lain in fiction. The Australian fiction collaborators who write under the pen name Alice Campion are a group of women who have so far written The Painted Sky (2015) and The Shifting Light (2017). In the 1780s, The Federalist Papers were written under the pseudonym "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton , James Madison , and John Jay . The three men chose
5292-515: The sun over the crumpled hills. Then he drove away for good, waving his arm to me." At the same time, the failure of the coffee plantation, as a result of mismanagement, the height of the farm, drought and the falling price of coffee caused by the worldwide economic depression , forced Blixen to abandon her estate. The family corporation sold the land to a residential developer, and Blixen returned to Denmark in August 1931 to live with her mother. In
5376-427: The tireless vigil her staff from Africa kept on her former home for many years. When Blixen was diagnosed with syphilis in 1915, she was treated with mercury tablets. She took approximately 1 gram of mercury per day for almost a year according to some reports, while others show she did so for only a few months. She then spent time in Denmark for treatment and was given arsenic, which she continued to take in drop form as
5460-565: The title until her then ex-husband remarried in 1929. Bror had attended agricultural college at Alnarp and then managed the Stjetneholm farm within the Nasbyholm estate. During her early years, Karen spent part of her time at her mother's family home, the Mattrup seat farm near Horsens . Karen and Bror planned to raise cattle on their farm, but eventually they became convinced that coffee would be more profitable. The Karen Coffee Company
5544-487: The war ended, when she received correspondence praising the stories from American troops who had read them in the Armed Services Editions during the conflict. Blixen worked on a novel she called Albondocani for many years, hoping to produce a volume in the style of Les Hommes de bonne volonté by Jules Romains , with interwoven stories across several volumes. The main character, Harun al-Rashid ,
5628-491: The work of several ghostwriters they commissioned. The writers of Atlanta Nights , a deliberately bad book intended to embarrass the publishing firm PublishAmerica , used the pen name Travis Tea. Additionally, the credited author of The Expanse , James S. A. Corey , is an amalgam of the middle names of collaborating writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck respectively, while S. A. is the initials of Abraham's daughter. Sometimes multiple authors will write related books under
5712-612: Was flying officer . Authors who regularly write in more than one genre may use different pen names for each, either in an attempt to conceal their true identity or even after their identity is known. Romance writer Nora Roberts writes erotic thrillers under the pen name J. D. Robb (such books were originally listed as by "J. D. Robb" and are now titled "Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb"); Scots writer Iain Banks wrote mainstream or literary fiction under his own name and science fiction under Iain M. Banks; Samuel Langhorne Clemens used
5796-510: Was occupied by the Germans , Blixen started her only full-length novel, the introspective tale The Angelic Avengers , under a French pseudonym, Pierre Andrezel, for the first and last time. Though it was written in Danish, she claimed that it was a translation of a French work written between the wars and denied being its author. The book was published in 1944 and nominated for a third Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Blixen initially did not want
5880-463: Was "frail" and "weighed 63 pounds [28 kg]" and she spent part of her time receiving "intravenous infusions". After returning to Denmark, Blixen resumed working, despite severe illness, finishing the African sketches Shadows on the Grass in 1960. The last of her works published during her lifetime, it was awarded her fifth selection as a Book-of-the-Month. A return-to-Africa memoir, Shadows explores
5964-558: Was Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII ). On safari with his clients, he died in the crash of his de Havilland Gipsy Moth biplane in March 1931. Karen Blixen wrote about their last meeting and subsequent parting. "When he had started in his car for the aerodrome in Nairobi, and had turned down the drive, he came back to look for a volume of poems, that he had given to me and now wanted on his journey. He stood with one foot on
6048-479: Was completed in 1933, she had difficulty finding a publisher and used her brother's contacts with Dorothy Canfield to help. The book was published in the United States in 1934 under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen, though the publisher refused to give Blixen an advance and discouraged the use of a pseudonym. When it was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, sales skyrocketed. This first book, highly enigmatic and more metaphoric than Gothic , won wide recognition in
6132-610: Was considered several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature , but did not receive it because judges were reportedly concerned about showing favoritism to Scandinavian writers, according to Danish reports. Karen Dinesen was born in Rungstedlund , north of Copenhagen . Her father, Wilhelm Dinesen (1845–1895), was a writer, army officer, and politician. He served in the 1864 war by Denmark against Prussia, and also joined
6216-425: Was delayed for another year. The most famous tale from Anecdotes is " Babette's Feast ", about a chef who spends her entire 10,000-franc lottery prize to prepare a final spectacular gourmet meal. The story evaluates relationships and examines whether the austere but charitable life led by the sisters, in adherence to an ideal, is less true to faith than the passionate gift from the heart of their housekeeper. The story
6300-405: Was diagnosed with syphilis according to her biographer Judith Thurman . She herself attributed her symptoms, in a letter to her brother Thomas, to syphilis acquired at 29 years old from her husband toward the end of their first year of marriage in 1915. However, later in life, her medical records do not support that diagnosis. She had been locally prescribed mercury and arsenic , a treatment for
6384-709: Was established by their uncle, Aage Westerholz, who chose the name after his daughter Karen, Blixen's cousin, rather than to create an association with Karen Blixen. The couple soon established their first farm, Mbagathi, in the Great Lakes area. During First World War fighting between the Germans and the British in East Africa , Bror served in Lord Delamere's patrols along Kenya's border with German-Tanganyika and Karen helped transport supplies. The war led to
6468-435: Was intensely independent, was an issue. Karen and Bror were officially divorced in 1925. Karen would go to Government House where she had befriended Joan Grigg who was the bored wife of the governor. Grigg would in time create a charity to create hospitals in Kenya. Finch Hatton moved into her house, made Blixen's farmhouse his home base between 1926 and 1931 and began leading safaris for wealthy sportsmen. Among his clients
6552-630: Was nine years old. Karen Dinesen's life at Rungstedlund changed significantly after her father's death. From the age of 10 years, her life was dominated by her mother's Westenholz family. Unlike her brothers, who attended school, she was educated at home by her maternal grandmother and by her aunt, Mary B. Westenholz . They brought her up in the staunch Unitarian tradition. Her Aunt Bess had significant influence on Dinesen. They engaged in lively discussions and correspondence on women's rights and relationships between men and women. During her early years, she spent part of her time at her mother's family home,
6636-428: Was not well-suited for coffee cultivation, given its high elevation. The couple hired local workers: most were Kikuyu who lived on the farmlands at the time of the couple's arrival, but there were also Wakamba , Kavirondo , Swahili , and Masai . Initially, Bror worked the farm, but it soon became evident that he had little interest in it and preferred to leave running the farm to Blixen while he went on safari . For
6720-574: Was reproduced in a film directed and written by Gabriel Axel , which was released in 1987, and won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1988. In 1959, Blixen made her only trip to the United States. It was an extended trip spanning from January to April, and while the purpose was to complete a series of educational films and discussions for the Ford Foundation and Encyclopædia Britannica , Blixen intended to enjoy herself. She
6804-409: Was taken from One Thousand and One Nights . She worked on several collections at once, categorizing them according to their themes and whether she thought they were mostly to make money or literary. She jumped between writing the collections of stories for Albondocani to Anecdotes of Destiny to New Gothic Tales and New Winter's Tales . Almost all of Blixen's tales from the 1940s and 1950s follow
6888-644: Was the author of the novel, saying that it was her "illegitimate child". Dorothy Canfield described "The Angelic Avengers" in her Book-of-the-Month Club News review as "of superlatively fine literary quality, written with distinction in an exquisite style". A collection of stories, Last Tales ( Danish : Sidste fortællinger ) was published in 1957, followed in 1958 by the collection Anecdotes of Destiny ( Danish : Skæbne-Anekdoter ). Last Tales included seven stories that Blixen had intended to be parts of Albondocani . It also included sections called New Gothic Tales and New Winter's Tales . Blixen's concept of
6972-525: Was the feature of a Life Magazine article in the edition of 19 January 1959 and attended two Broadway openings . Feted by the well-to-do of New York society, Blixen was invited to dine with socialites Babe Paley and Gloria Vanderbilt . She was photographed by Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton , hosted by John Steinbeck at a cocktail party in her honor, and serenaded by Maria Callas . Nobel laureate Pearl Buck and poets E. E. Cummings and Marianne Moore came to see her, as well. When Blixen expressed
7056-478: Was unfaithful to his wife. According to Peter Capstick, "It was not long after Blixen and his wife settled on their farm that he started womanizing." Capstick goes on to say, "His forays into town and his often wild socializing at the Muthaiga Club , coupled with a legendary indiscipline when it came to money and honoring his debts, soon gave the charming Swede a notorious reputation." As a consequence, she
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