To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize For Fiction, 25 classic novels previously published under male pseudonyms have been re-released under the female authors’ true names. 

The Reclaim Her Name library of titles are available to download for free from Baileys as e-books, as a way of honouring and celebrating some of these amazing novels of the past. According to the Prize, this is away of “championing female writers throughout the ages who faced many obstacles, not least sexism and prejudice”.

The books include George Eliot’s Middlemarch, which has been reissued under the author’s real name, Mary Ann Evans, for the first time.

The collection, launched in collaboration with Baileys, comes after the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 shortlist was announced earlier this year.

Here are the 25 e-book titles you can download:

1. Middlemarch, Mary Ann Evans  (George Eliot)
2. Marie of the Cabin Club, Ann Petry, (Arnold Petri)
3. Indiana, Amantine Aurore Dupin, (George Sand)
4. A Phantom Lover, Violet Paget, (Vernon Lee)
5. The Life of Martin R. Delany, Frances Rollin Whipper, (Frank A. Rollin)
6. Keynotes, Mary Bright, (George Egerton)
7. Takekurabe (Growing Up), Natsu Higuchi, (Ichiyō Higuchi)
8. Garden of Kama, Violet Nicolson, (Laurence Hope)
9. How White Men Assist In Smuggling…, Edith Maude Eaton, (Mahlon T. Wing)
10. Attila, My Attila!, Edith Cooper & Katherine Bradley, (Michael Field)
11. Ye Game and Playe of Chesse, Alice Dunbar Nelson, (Monroe Wright)
12. Painted Clay, Doris Boake Kerr, (Capel Boake) 
13. For Our Country, Fatemeh Soltan Khanum Farahani (Shahein Farahani)
14. Iras: A Mystery, Henrietta Everett) (Theo Douglas) 
15. The History of Sir Richard Calmady, Mary Kingsley, (Lucas Malet)
16. Atla- Story of a Lost Island, Ann Smith, (J Gregory Smith)
17. Twilight, Julia Frankau, (Frank Danby)
18. The Silence Of Dean Maitland, Mary Tuttiett, (Maxwell Gray)
19. The Head Of Medusa, Julia Constance Fletcher, (George Fleming)
20. Some Emotions and a Moral, Pearl Richards, (John Oliver Hobbes)
21. Cecilia De Noël - Mary Hawker, Mary Hawker, (Lanoe Falconer)
22. Echoes from Mist-land, Aubertine Woodward Moore, (Auber Forestier)
23. Valerie Aylmer, Frances Tiernan, (Christian Reid)
24. A Diplomat’s Diary, Julia Cruger, (Julien Gordon)
25. The Roadmender, Margaret Fairless Barber, (Michael Fairless)

Each book was selected by a dedicated team who spent months searching archives, online and university library resources to identify women recorded to have written under male pseudonyms, dating back from the 19th century.

Women’s Prize for Fiction founder director Kate Mosse said: “Baileys has been a sponsor of the Women’s Prize for Fiction for many years now and together we have been dedicated to honouring, celebrating and championing women’s writing. Together, we’re incredibly excited by the Reclaim Her Name campaign – it’s a lovely way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Prize, by doing what we always strive to do – empowering women, igniting conversations and ensuring that they get the recognition they deserve”.

You can find all the Reclaim Her Name ebooks to download on the campaign’s website.

Images: Baileys, Getty