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An image of Taylor Swift superimposed over a still from the movie Argylle, showing author Elly Conway on the train.

A Bizarre Theory Claims Taylor Swift Wrote Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle

Have you heard that Taylor Swift wrote the book that Matthew Vaughnā€™s Argylle is based on? If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the internet you probably have, so what’s going on? Did the pop singer really write the story? Here’s what you need to know.

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The Theory Taylor Swift Wrote Matthew Vaughnā€™s Argylle, Explained

Before I delve into the theory itself, we need to talk about the confusion surrounding Argylle, Matthew Vaughn’s new movie. The movie itself is about a novelist, Elly Conway, who writes books about Argylle, a fictional spy. But Conway gets caught up in real-life espionage, apparently because the plots of her books are too close to real occurrences.

So far, so good. It’s a work of fiction about fictional novelist Elly Conway. Except that there’s a real Argylle book currently available on Amazon, written by ‘Elly Conway’. And, according to Matthew Vaughn, only one book in the series has been published, but the movie is based on a fourth, unpublished book.

So, just who wrote the Argylle book that’s currently on Amazon? According to some, it’s Taylor Swift. Why? It boils down to a few things. One reason is that the cat in the Argylle movie poster has a similar appearance, including the grumpy look, to Taylor Swift’s own cats. Swift has also carried her own cat in a similar porthole-style bag.

Another reason is that the ‘real’ author, Elly Conway, doesn’t have anything in the way of history. The only places you’ll find her biography is websites like Penguin which are probably in on the joke. Joke? I’ll come to that later.

Also, Swift has used pseudonyms in the past. For example, she co-wrote This Is What You Came For as ‘Nils Sjƶberg’. And she’s worn argyle sweaters and even sells an official Taylor Swift argyle sweater on her official merchandise website. Elly Conway is a redhead in the Argylle movie and Swift’s character in the All Too Well short went on to become an author. And, well, that it’s, mainly.

Did Taylor Swift Actually Write Argylle?

As Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Except he didn’t, the saying is much older but, thanks to people sharing it online, usually alongside Twain’s image, it’s pretty widespread.

Still, the sentiment applies to conspiracy theories, even this one. But Matthew Vaughn has confirmed Taylor Swift didn’t write the book. According to Rolling Stone, his daughter approached him with the theory, having taken it at face value. But he’s denied it. So, who is Elly Conway?

Honestly, I think she’s a ghost writer who’s been chosen to help Vaughn with his deception. I think this is an elaborate Blair Witch-style plot to drum up interest in the movie and that there aren’t, in fact, three other books in the works. Can I prove that? No, but Vaughn is adamant that Taylor Swift isn’t behind Argylle.

And that’s the theory that the theory Taylor Swift wrote Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, explained. If you’re wondering who plays who, here are all major actors and cast list for Argylle.


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Chris McMullen
Contributing Writer
Chris McMullen is a freelance contributor at The Escapist and has been with the site since 2020. He returned to writing about games following several career changes, with his most recent stint lasting five-plus years. He hopes that, through his writing work, he settles the karmic debt he incurred by persuading his parents to buy a Mega CD. Outside of The Escapist, Chris covers news and more for GameSpew. He's also been published at such sites as VG247, Space, and more. His tastes run to horror, the post-apocalyptic, and beyond, though he'll tackle most things that aren't exclusively sports-based. At Escapist, he's covered such games as Infinite Craft, Lies of P, Starfield, and numerous other major titles.