Staying anonymous isn't as easy as it once was. When all of our lives are online, we can't hide by closing the curtains or changing cities anymore. Every move we make on the web leaves a digital footprint, and every digital footprint contains information that points to our likes, dislikes, habits, and routines. While anonymous authorship was once commonplace, remaining truly anonymous in the internet era is a challenge, especially if people are intent on discovering who you are.
Against all odds, The Secret Footballer is an anonymous author whose name remains a mystery. Despite revealing the darkest secrets of the premier league for years, The Secret Footballer's true identity is yet to be discovered. Hints have been given, theories examined, and candidates proposed, but no evidence has been conclusive. Let's look into the meaning of being an anonymous author, The Secret Footballer's work as an example, and books and poems by other anonymous authors.
Anonymous author: meaning
Many works of literature, both historically and recently, have been released by anonymous authors. But what does that mean? Here's a simple definition to explain the term:
An anonymous author is a writer whose identity is unknown. Their works are either published completely anonymously or under a pen name (a pseudonym that the author adopts and uses in their work instead of their real name).
Anonymous author: I am The Secret Footballer
Since 2011, an anonymous male premier-league footballer known only as 'The Secret Footballer' has published an extensive body of work revealing the previously untold mysteries of premier-league football. What started as a weekly column in the British newspaper The Guardian quickly became a successful book series.
I am The Secret Footballer: Lifting the Lid on the Beautiful Game (2012) is the first of five novels by The Secret Footballer. The book exposes the inner workings of a professional football team with remarkable honesty, detailing player attitudes, the relationship players have with fans, and issues regarding racism and homophobia in the sport. Since then, the anonymous author has published four more books:
- Tales From The Secret Footballer (2013)
- The Secret Footballer's Guide to the Modern Game (2014)
- The Secret Footballer: Access All Areas (2015)
- How to Win: Lessons from the Premier League (2017)
Each of these novels offers further insight into the secretive world of professional football.
Fig. 1 - Everyone loves to receive information that they believe is top secret.
The series' popularity is heightened by the mystery surrounding its author. Fans are constantly left guessing who 'The Secret Footballer' is; despite many pundits proposing plausible theories, none have proven conclusive.
Did you know? It is believed that only three people know the true identity of The Secret Footballer!
Fans of the series have resorted to desperate measures in their attempts to discover the identity of The Secret Footballer. A website dedicated to the author tracks, archives, and cross-examines information from the book to pinpoint the most likely candidates! So far, they know that The Secret Footballer is male, that he is English, white, has played in two separate clubs, and was relegated from the premier league on its final day.
Being an anonymous author
An author may choose to write anonymously for a variety of reasons. Some hide their identity based on personal beliefs, others because of the limitations imposed upon them, and some because of how their writing may be perceived. Let's explore each rationale behind remaining anonymous in more detail.
Controversial topics
If a writer wishes to discuss sensitive topics, they may choose to remain anonymous. This allows them to express their opinion without fear of repercussion. With his candid discussion of football's dark mysteries, 'The Secret Footballer' falls into this category. He has openly stated that revealing his identity would make him a controversial figure among colleagues and footballing officials; remaining anonymous allows him to tell all his stories without fear of being sued.
Using anonymity as a tool to address controversial topics is a touchy subject.
On the one hand, it allows authors like The Secret Footballer to lay bare the problems in large organisations without fear of punishment for their actions. This is especially crucial if the writer exposes an organisation from within it, putting their career at risk.
On the other hand, the internet has made anonymity a dangerous weapon. Anyone can now write controversial, hateful, or abusive content about anything or anyone they like. This lack of accountability allows malicious internet users to say whatever they wish without fear of consequence. The Government is continuously adding new measures to its Online Safety Bill to fight against anonymous abusers.
Societal limitations
Authors may choose to remain anonymous because it allows them to avoid legal, political, or social limitations that society has imposed upon them.
Many female authors have historically masked their true identities to avoid unjust treatment and give their literature a fair chance. In the 19th century, some female writers adopted male pen names to help their work be published and accepted in male-dominated literary circles. For example, Mary Ann Evans (1819-80) used the pen name George Eliot, and the Bronte sisters, Anne (1820-49), Charlotte (1816-55), and Emily (1818-48), published under Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell, respectively.
Other writers may be forced to conceal their identity to avoid prosecution. Between the 1940s and 1960s, Brian O'Nolan (1911-66) used pen names Myles na gCopaleen and Flann O'Brien to publish journalistic work because Irish civil servants were forbidden to write about anything political.
No, that's not a typo! 'Myles na gCopaleen' is Gaelic, and Brian O'Nolan used the pseudonym for all of his Gaelic works.
To avoid overexposure
In rare cases, some writers use pen names to avoid overexposure laws or to avoid oversaturating their audience with their work. This is common in newspapers, in which a writer may use different pseudonyms if they have written multiple articles, so the reader feels like they are hearing from a diverse range of authors.
Stephen King is the most famous author to have chosen a pen name for this purpose. As a famously quick horror fiction writer, King's publishers wanted to avoid oversaturating the market with the 'Stephen King' brand. King adopted the pen name 'Richard Bachman', allowing him to maintain his relentless writing routine without risk of running into harsh publishing legislation.
King also claims that he wanted to test whether he could still be a successful writer, even under a different name. It turns out that his success was no accident! King's pseudonym sold a respectable amount of copies before people began to suspect that Bachman was actually the world's most famous horror writer in disguise!
To avoid celebrity status
Privacy is a significant concern in the digital age. Many celebrities do their best to stay out of the limelight as much as possible. Some writers may choose to remain anonymous simply to avoid celebrity status and keep their personal lives private. That said, with advanced technology and the power of the internet, staying out of the public eye is increasingly challenging, and the possibility of remaining truly anonymous is now slimmer than ever.
Despite this, remaining anonymous in the modern day is still possible. The identity of the Secret Footballer is still a mystery. Some successful authors have pen names that have lasted for decades without their real identity ever being discovered. For example, Italian novelist Elena Ferrante's identity remains a mystery. Despite releasing multiple popular, globally recognisable novels, she has maintained her pseudonym since the release of her first novel in 1992. She claims that a book does not need an author once published and that anonymity is key to her writing process.
Anonymous author: books
Let's explore some famous examples of anonymous books:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
This fourteenth-century poem, of which only one manuscript survived, tells the epic tale of King Arthur's round table. The text also contained three poems, including the famous 'Pearl', which earned the anonymous author the name 'The Pearl Poet'. It is believed that the poet was from the West Midlands, owing to the regional dialect used throughout his work. Although convincing theories have been proposed to explain the identity of the Pearl Poet, none have been conclusive, and to this day, his true identity remains unknown.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
The first edition of Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) Frankenstein (1818) was initially published anonymously. Shelley believed that the subject matter would cause anger and outrage if the public realised that she was a woman. Horror was seen as an 'off-limits' genre for female writers. Frankenstein was a success with the public, but critics were quick to dismiss the work upon discovering that Shelley was a woman.
The writer of it is, we understand, a female; this is an aggravation of that which is the prevailing fault of the novel; but if our authoress can forget the gentleness of her sex, it is no reason why we should; and we shall therefore dismiss the novel without further comment (The British Critic).1
This excerpt from a misogynistic review focuses primarily on Shelley's gender over the merits of her novel. The discriminatory treatment here highlights the appeal of anonymity for many 19th-century female authors.
Misogynism is the ingrained belief that men are superior to women, and someone who holds this belief is considered misogynistic.
Anonymous author: poems
Let's look into some popular examples of anonymous poetry:
Beowulf
Perhaps the most famous anonymous poem, and certainly the most famous work of Old English Literature, is Beowulf (c. 975–1025), an epic poem featuring 3,182 lines of alliterative verse. The author is still unknown, referred to only as the Beowulf poet. It is believed that the poem may have been completed by multiple collaborating poets who preserved the story in a single manuscript.
One of the key reasons that many novels and poems from past generations were published anonymously is that old stories were designed to be recited orally rather than read.
Many narratives were spoken aloud for years before being committed to text. The stories were frequently edited, altered, and expanded upon, meaning that each region could have its own distinct retelling of a traditional narrative. This makes creating a written version of the story no easy task. With so many different versions of the story coming from various people, it is hard to attribute the text to a definitive author.
Pasquinades
Sometimes poets choose to remain anonymous because the content of their poems is offensive, political, or satirical. For an interesting example of this, look no further than pasquinades!
Pasquinades are a short form of anonymous, aggressively satirical verse. The name derives from a roman statue nicknamed 'Pasquino', dating back to the third century BCE, which citizens have used to comment on politics since the fifteenth century.
Today, locals still use 'Pasquino' to vent their frustrations, create satirical poetry, and leave witty remarks. However, messages are now confined to a board next to the statue, as it's forbidden to damage the original stone.
Fig. 2 - The famous 'Pasquino' statue, which people use to comment on different topics, dates back to the third century BCE
Anonymous Author - Key takeaways
- An anonymous author is a writer whose identity is unknown. Their works are either published completely anonymously or under a pen name.
- An anonymous author may be hiding their identity because of personal beliefs, as a result of the limitations imposed upon them, or because of how their writing may be perceived.
- The Secret Footballer has authored five novels that expose the inner workings of professional football and explore racism, sexism, and homophobia in the sport.
- The Secret Footballer chooses to remain anonymous because he fears he may be sued if he reveals his identity.
- Authors may also choose to remain anonymous because it allows them to avoid legal, political, or social limitations that society has imposed upon them.
References
- The British Critic. New Series. Vol. 9. April 1818.
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