# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/21 "2016-08-11T22:19:29Z")
[Fly Fishing by J R Hartley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Hartley) ---
**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, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/22 "2016-08-11T23:10:29Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Does that byline need to appear on the front cover? If not, it opens the possibilities. Not necessarily; my Norman Spinrad example had Spinrad’s name on the cover and title page, but Hitler’s on a second title page. But it should be somewhere before the story begins. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/23 "2016-08-12T00:01:12Z")
ERB was was just the transcriber of his uncle John’s Barsoomian stories. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/24 "2016-08-12T00:18:32Z")
[Barney Stinson](https://www.amazon.com/Barney-Stinson/e/B001J8XGXK) has written several books. Then there’s [_Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America_ by Leslie Knope](https://www.amazon.com/Pawnee-Greatest-America-Leslie-Knope/dp/1401310648) FBI Agent Dale Cooper from _Twin Peaks_ also wrote an autobiography. ---
**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 12, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/25 "2016-08-12T00:24:22Z")
How about The Princess Bride by “S. Morgenstern”, does that count? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/26 "2016-08-12T00:34:10Z")
Jessica Fletcher of _Murder, She Wrote_ has written a whole series of mysteries with co-author Donald Bain. Similarly, romance novelist Felicia Gallant of _Another World_ wrote a series of romance novels with a co-author. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/27 "2016-08-12T01:20:30Z")
“Joan Wilder” wrote the novelization of “Romancing The Stone” ---
**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 12, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/28 "2016-08-12T01:42:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > How about The Princess Bride by “S. Morgenstern”, does that count? See post 6, but yes. ---
**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 12, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/29 "2016-08-12T02:01:32Z")
If we’re including personas: _Let Me Off at the Top!: My Classy Life and Other Musings_, by Ron Burgundy _BORAT: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan_ by Borat Sagdiyev _Dame Edna Everage: My Gorgeous Life_ and _Dame Edna’s Bedside Companion_ and if you want to get meta: _Confessions of a Late Night Talk Show Host_, by Garry Shandling Stephen Colbert, _I Am America (And So Can You!)_ and _America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t_ I think there are bunches of these. ---
**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 12, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/30 "2016-08-12T02:03:01Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > FBI Agent Dale Cooper from _Twin Peaks_ also wrote an autobiography. And there’s also _The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer_. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/31 "2016-08-12T06:14:02Z")
Not a book, but an album: Jethro Tull’s _Thick as a Brick_ was purportedly written by a child prodigy named Gerald Bostock. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/32 "2016-08-12T13:04:52Z")
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/33 "2016-08-12T14:02:06Z")
I suppose any number of Sherlock Holmes pastiches might count, but in particular I recall [Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula](https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Dracula-Loren-Estleman/dp/0140052623/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471009747&sr=8-2&keywords=sherlock+holmes+vs.+dracula), or The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count, because its cover and title page explicitly claim to be “by John H. Watson, M.D.” The actual author, Loren D. Estleman, is identified as the editor. Estleman even includes a prologue explaining the circumstances by which he came into possession of this previously unknown manuscript by Watson, which he now has the honor to present to the public. ---
**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 12, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/34 "2016-08-12T15:04:28Z")
[The Hitler Diaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Diaries) ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/35 "2016-08-12T15:10:03Z")
> [@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. [The Seven Percent Solution](https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Per-Cent-Solution-Reprint-Reminiscences-Paperback/dp/0393311198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471014483&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+percent+solution) by John H Watson, edited by Nicholas Meyer. When I read this as a kid I was confused about whether it was fact or fiction. ---
**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 12, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/36 "2016-08-12T15:22:07Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I suppose any number of Sherlock Holmes pastiches might count, but in particular I recall [Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula](https://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Dracula-Loren-Estleman/dp/0140052623/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471009747&sr=8-2&keywords=sherlock+holmes+vs.+dracula), or The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count, because its cover and title page explicitly claim to be “by John H. Watson, M.D.” The actual author, Loren D. Estleman, is identified as the editor. > > Estleman even includes a prologue explaining the circumstances by which he came into possession of this previously unknown manuscript by Watson, which he now has the honor to present to the public. > [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > [The Seven Percent Solution](https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Per-Cent-Solution-Reprint-Reminiscences-Paperback/dp/0393311198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471014483&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+percent+solution) by John H Watson, edited by Nicholas Meyer. When I read this as a kid I was confused about whether it was fact or fiction. There are umpteen zillion books like this, but I don’t know of any that don’t have the actual author’s name on the cover. “As edited by” is transparency. An earlier example is Ellery Queen’s A Study in Terror. That was supposed to be a novelization of the film of that name as written by Watson, really by Paul Fairman. That was too short and the publishers got Queen to write a frame story around it and used their famous name. That probably got Meyer thinking he could pull the same trick a few years later. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/37 "2016-08-12T17:33:35Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Jessica Fletcher of _Murder, She Wrote_ has written a whole series of mysteries with co-author Donald Bain. > > Similarly, romance novelist Felicia Gallant of _Another World_ wrote a series of romance novels with a co-author. I came in to post about Jessica Fletcher, my grandma used to read her books. I forgot about Felicia Gallant, _Another World_ was my favorite soap opera for a while. ---
**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 12, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/38 "2016-08-12T17:40:34Z")
A musical example: _[Greatest Hits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(Chris_Gaines_album))_ by Chris Gaines. Also: [The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turtles_Present_the_Battle_of_the_Bands). Each individual track is credited to a different fictional band. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/39 "2016-08-12T18:02:54Z")
[Go Ask Alice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Ask_Alice), purportedly the authentic diary of a messed-up teenaged girl, was apparently written by Beatrice Sparks, the sole copyright holder. The [Seth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Material) books claimed to channel a spirit entity via New Age pioneer Jane Roberts. I guess [Bridey Murphy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridey_Murphy) deserves a mention. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448/40 "2016-08-12T18:17:09Z")
I think “Naked Came the Stranger” by Penelope Ashe would count. From wiki: > [@](#): > > Naked Came the Stranger is a 1969 novel written as a literary hoax poking fun at the American literary culture of its time. Though credited to “Penelope Ashe”, it was in fact written by a group of twenty-four journalists led by Newsday columnist Mike McGrady. > > McGrady’s intention was to write a book that was both deliberately terrible and contained a lot of descriptions of sex, to illustrate the point that popular American literary culture had become mindlessly vulgar. The book fulfilled the authors’ expectations and became a bestseller in 1969; they revealed the hoax later that year, further spurring the book’s popularity. I read it my freshman year of college. It was terrible! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-books-by-fictional-authors/762448.md?page=3)