你的句子中的 of 并非与 be known 构成固定搭配。其实原句应该是这样的：

Nothing is known of the authorship of the book. 没有人知道这本书是谁写的。

=Nothing of the authorship of the book is known. 没有人知道这本书是谁写的。

又如：

Nothing was known of his past. 对他的过去一无所知。

Little is known of his youth. 对他的青年时期人们所知甚少。

Little is known of Shakespeare's early years. 我们对莎士比亚的早年生活知之甚少。

As yet little is known of the causes of the disease. 造成这种疾病的原因迄今几乎一无所知。