# Chateau de la Tobler

## Tuesday, July 17, 2007

### The mysterious Madeleine Brent...

Is in reality...Peter O'Donnell, British writer of mysteries and comic strips. And he was born on Telima's birthday in 1920.

> In 1969 Peter O´Donnel was asked if he could imagine writing a Gothic novel for Souvenir Press. He was not particularly enthusiastic about it, but let himself be persuaded to give it a try - under a female alias, though, because this kind of books was meant for a mainly female audience...His American publisher never learnt that Madeleine Brent was a nom de plume for more than twenty years and the correspondence invariably went to Dear Madeleine. To give his signature a more female touch Peter O´Donnell had his wife sign the answering letters.
> From "Who is Madeleine Brent?"

So...does it bother you that a man wrote "Moonraker's Bride" or "Merlin's Keep"? When I first learned that fact (a million years ago, I can't remember how), it did bother me a little bit. But I really don't care anymore.
Any other shockers out there in the literary world?

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