Which author published Wuthering Heights under the pseudonym Ellis Bell?

Which author published Wuthering Heights under the pseudonym Ellis Bell?

• A. Charlotte Brontë
• B. Jane Austen
• C. Emily Brontë
• D. Mary Shelley

Answer: (C)

This tests knowledge of which Brontë sister used a male pseudonym to publish a famous novel. In the 1840s, the Brontë sisters published their works under masculine pen names to navigate the publishing world and avoid gender bias. Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights and released it under the name Ellis Bell in 1847. Her sisters did different things: Charlotte Brontë used Currer Bell for Jane Eyre, and Anne Brontë used Acton Bell for Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Others like Jane Austen and Mary Shelley published under their own names (Austen’s works were originally issued anonymously to readers, not under Ellis Bell; Shelley published Frankenstein with her real name). So the author behind Ellis Bell for this novel is Emily Brontë.