Doris Lessing's Literary Experiment

In 1983, British author Doris Lessing conducted an experiment under the pseudonym "Jane Somers" to highlight the challenges faced by new writers and defy critics who accused her of being one-dimensional. Despite American publishers being aware of the experiment, their British counterparts rejected her two novels, "The Diary of a Good Neighbour" and "If the Old Could", and the books received little attention, selling fewer than 5,000 copies. Lessing eventually revealed herself as the true author a year later, embarrassing the literary world as only a few astute critics had recognized her writing style.