C.S. Lewis used the name “H.” for Joy Davidman in A Grief Observed.
A Grief Observed is Lewis’s intensely personal account of mourning after the death of his wife, the American writer Joy Davidman. In the book, he refers to her as “H.” rather than using her full name, creating a degree of privacy while examining grief, anger, doubt, and faith.
The book was first published in 1961 under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk. Later editions identified Lewis as the author, and readers learned that the “H.” at the center of the work was Davidman.
The initial disguise can cause confusion between the book’s author and its subject. Lewis wrote the reflections; “H.” is the abbreviated name he used for his deceased wife.