# Real books by fictional authors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448 "2016-08-11T15:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/1 "2016-08-11T15:25:07Z")
[In this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19545921&posted=1#post19545921), I was reminded of Pat Murphy’s “Max Merriwell” trilogy (never marketed as such, but clearly one) and how two of the books were by fictional authors. _There and Back Again_ was by “Max Merriwell.” _Wild Angel_ was by “Mary Maxwell,” a pseudonym of Merriwell _Through Time and Space with Max Merriwell_ is by Murphy, though it might be by Merriwell’s alter ego “Weldon Maxwell.” “Pat Murphy” is also a character. There’s also Norman Spinrad’s _The Iron Dream_, which, once you get past the cover material, is actually _Lords of the Swastika_ by Adolph Hitler. And Philip Jose Farmer channeled Kilgore Trout for _Venus on the Half Shell_. I’m not looking for pseudonyms, but rather a book purportedly written by a literary character or historical figure for literary effect. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/2 "2016-08-11T15:41:28Z")
“Richard Castle” released several books. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/3 "2016-08-11T15:44:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not looking for pseudonyms, but rather a book purportedly written by a literary character or historical figure for literary effect. Excepting that some pseudonymous authors have little or no background material and some have elaborately constructed personal histories, what’s the difference? A pseudonymously written work is just that, whether it’s by John Doe or Kilgore Trout. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/4 "2016-08-11T16:22:01Z")
Does the ‘nomad of the time streams’ trilogy count? Michael Moorcock wrote them but used strange literary devices to introduce each one. One was supposed to be a manuscript written by his grandfather and another one was supposed to be written by Oswald Bastable who was the main character. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/5 "2016-08-11T16:28:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not looking for pseudonyms, but rather a book purportedly written by a literary character or historical figure for literary effect. Even so, Ellery Queen maybe deserves mention. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/6 "2016-08-11T16:28:54Z")
Does [S. Morgenstern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Bride) count? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/7 "2016-08-11T16:30:28Z")
How about Lemony Snickett or am I misunderstanding the premise here? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/8 "2016-08-11T17:13:15Z")
There’s been more than one **Necronomicon** (supposedly by the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred\*) published. As far as I know, nobody ever published any of the other Cthulhu Mythos works made up by other authors – The _Unausprechlichen Kulten_ of von Junzt, or _De Vermis Mysteriis_. Nor the _The Book of Eibon_ or Robert E, Howard’s non-Cthulhu _Book of Sjelos_. \*A construction which, according to Lovecraft annotators, makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/9 "2016-08-11T17:52:18Z")
Yankee Lawyer: The Autobiography of Ephraim Tutt A good story about it can be found [here](http://io9.gizmodo.com/what-happened-when-a-fictional-character-penned-an-auto-1195395983). Short version. Arthur Train wrote mysteries about Ephraim Tutt for a quarter century. When he got old, he produced an entire autobiography and published it under Tutt’s name. The world, with its usual short memory, was fooled. You can still find occasional articles of people picking up the book and thinking it was a real history. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/10 "2016-08-11T18:02:16Z")
The Flashman series was supposedly the memoirs of the eponymous character, with George Macdonald Fraser as the discoverer/editor of the memoirs. Allegedly, when the first set was published, some folks were fooled into thinking it was non-fiction. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/11 "2016-08-11T18:22:13Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > How about Lemony Snickett or am I misunderstanding the premise here? Snickett makes sense – he seems to be a character as well as a pen name. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/12 "2016-08-11T18:23:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not looking for pseudonyms, but rather a book purportedly written by a literary character or historical figure for literary effect. Would \*I, Claudius \*be an example of what you’re looking for? Written in first person narrative from the POV of Claudius. However, the cover of the book showed that it was written by Robert Graves, no pretence that it was actually written by Claudius. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/13 "2016-08-11T19:02:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Would \*I, Claudius \*be an example of what you’re looking for? > > Written in first person narrative from the POV of Claudius. However, the cover of the book showed that it was written by Robert Graves, no pretence that it was actually written by Claudius. No. There are thousands of novels written in the first person. I’m looking for those where the actual author listed as fictional character (in that novel or for other reasons) in the byline. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/14 "2016-08-11T19:19:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. There are thousands of novels written in the first person. I’m looking for those where the actual author listed as fictional character (in that novel or for other reasons) in the byline. Would Flashman count? My copy has G.M. Frazer on the cover, but the inside title page says the following: "Flashman and the Redskins From the Flashman Papers, 1849-50 and 1875-76 Edited and Arranged by George MacDonald Faser". ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/15 "2016-08-11T19:30:02Z")
A couple of the “textbooks” from Hogwarts were published, including “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by Newt Scamander, as well as another one on Quidditch. I think “Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook,” which was introduced in Terry Pratchett’s “Maskerade”, has also been published. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/16 "2016-08-11T19:49:17Z")
Fans of “Lost” may recognize this one. > **[Amazon.com: Bad Twin: 9781401302764: Troup, Gary: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Twin-Gary-Troup/dp/1401302769)** > > Amazon.com: Bad Twin: 9781401302764: Troup, Gary: Books ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/17 "2016-08-11T20:34:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. There are thousands of novels written in the first person. I’m looking for those where the actual author listed as fictional character (in that novel or for other reasons) in the byline. Does that byline need to appear on the front cover? If not, it opens the possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/18 "2016-08-11T20:37:04Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Does the ‘nomad of the time streams’ trilogy count? Michael Moorcock wrote them but used strange literary devices to introduce each one. One was supposed to be a manuscript written by his grandfather and another one was supposed to be written by Oswald Bastable who was the main character. Oswald Bastable was the narrator of a couple of E Nesbit 's novels , including \* The Wouldbegoods \*, though I found no allusions to the his backstory in ( I think ) \* The Warlord of the Air \* by Moorcock . ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/19 "2016-08-11T20:53:15Z")
Originally Posted by \*\* cher3 \*\* > [@](#): > > \ > I think “Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook,” which was introduced in Terry Pratchett’s “Maskerade”, has also been published. Yes it has .I have a copy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/20 "2016-08-11T22:13:51Z")
_The Autobiography Of James T. Kirk_ > **[The Autobiography of James T. Kirk: Goodman, David A., Walks, Russell:...](https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-James-T-Kirk/dp/1783297484)** > > The Autobiography of James T. Kirk \[Goodman, David A., Walks, Russell\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Autobiography of James T. Kirk [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448.md?page=2)