Secret Identities of Classic Characters

Would you have read Gone with the Wind if it was about a woman named Pansy O'Hara?  Or the Lord of the Rings if the wizard was called Bladorthin the Grey?

We may not think that the names of the characters in our books matter that much. After all, they're not real people. But if you're a reader, think about all the time you spend with these characters. It may be more time than you spend with many of the real people you know! Not to mention that these iconic names filter through our entire culture. Who's never heard of Nancy Drew, even if you've never read one of the books? Now imagine the Nancy Drew mysteries if the plucky crime-solver was called Diana Dare. Not bad, but definitely not the same.

Head over to the Mental_Floss site to discover what some of the most recognizable names in literature were nearly called. Their article is 17 Famous Literary Characters Almost Named Something Else.

After that, if you find yourself in the mood to revisit some of these classic characters, click here to go to the Gwinnett County Public Library Catalog.

Or, if you'd like more trivia, click here to see a list of all the books published by Mental_Floss in the GCPL collection. Our branches also carry Mental_Floss magazine. It's a great way to discover something you probably didn't know before.