Which Brontë sister used the pen name Ellis Bell?

Emily Brontë used the pen name Ellis Bell. She adopted the name with her sisters Charlotte and Anne when they published Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell in 1846.

The three names preserved the sisters’ initials while concealing their identities: Charlotte became Currer Bell, Emily became Ellis Bell, and Anne became Acton Bell. Charlotte later explained that they wanted privacy and feared the prejudice directed at women authors, while also avoiding distinctly feminine first names.

Emily’s most famous work, Wuthering Heights, was published in 1847 under the name Ellis Bell. The novel’s first reception was mixed, partly because its emotional intensity and violence unsettled Victorian readers. Emily’s authorship became widely known after the sisters’ identities were revealed.

Ellis Bell is sometimes confused with Currer Bell, the name used by Charlotte, or Acton Bell, the name used by Anne. Emily wrote poetry as well as fiction, and her poetry was included in the sisters’ 1846 collection.