When it was over, there were a lot of questions. The detectives were embarrassed but they still wanted answered, "How did a 15-year-old runaway successfully pose as a world traveled countess?" The newspapers turned it back on them, practically sneering, "How did she do it while under investigation by the FBI, DEA, and Interpol?" The Mafia had been demanding the same thing for six months, "What is your real name?" And the psychologists asked the question they always ask, "Why?" It's the why of it that will keep a girl in trouble. Assuming Names is the true story of a young con artist. It's the tale of a runaway that assumed the title of countess and then went on to fool the FBI, DEA, and Interpol-as well as a number of other celebrities and institutions-with an elaborate tale of world intrigue.

An Inkwell of Pen Names tells the stories of 100 authors’ pen names in a hundred short chapters. Many other authors who used pen names are discussed incidentally. Features of the compendium include pen names beginning with every letter of the alphabet, authors from twenty-five countries, the recipients of the Nobel Prize for literature who used pseudonyms, and a balanced selection of men and women authors.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.