Grumpy Old Bookman. A blog about books and publishing, aimed at both readers and writers.
Listed by the Guardian in 2005 as one of the top ten literary blogs.
July 29th 2005, grumpyoldbookman.com
Empress Bianca.
Listed by the Guardian in 2005 as one of the top ten literary blogs.
July 29th 2005, grumpyoldbookman.com
Empress Bianca.
In March this year, a small UK publisher called Aracdia published Empress Bianca, a novel by Lady Colin Campbell, who is an author mostly interesting for her non-fiction books on the Royal family.
Booktrade.info pointed to an entertaining article about Empress Bianca in the Independent. It seems that Lady Colin's novel is not universally admired. A wealthy lady called Lily Safra has claimed that the book is a thinly veiled version of her own life. Being wealthy, Lily can afford some heavyweight lawyers. Being small, Arcadia can't. So Arcadia have withdrawn the book and promised to destroy all copies.
Lady Colin, meanwhile, takes a dim view of all this. Unless Lily Safra withdraws her claim, Lady C will sue her. Though for what, I am not entirely clear.
Well, I haven't read the book. But, assuming for the moment that Lady Colin can afford a decent lawyer, I would put money on her rather than the complainant. I would never in a thousand years advise anyone to write a novel about a real person. But, short of some sort of foolish admission from the author, I suspect that it is, generally speaking, quite hard to prove that a fictional character is based on anything other than the author's imagination.
Posted by Michael Allen. 11.03 am.
Comments:
Anonymous said... I read this book and knew Lily Safra and can say that it absolutely captured every nuance of her character (evil as it is) quite well. Having said that, isn't it bizarre that Lily would bring a lawsuit to stop the publishing of such a book? Don't you find that it only seems like an admission of guilt? Even more curious is why the publisher would so quickly capitulate and withdraw the books. Does UK law actually protect someone from a book of fiction that never uses her name? Wednesday, 03 August, 2005
Anonymous said... Do you still have the book? Is it for sale? Is it perhaps in PDF and can be downloaded? Wednesday, 05 October, 2005
Anonymous said... I really want to read Lady Colin Campbell's book: Empress Bianca. I understand 80 people in Brazil bought the book before it was banned. Sunday, 09 October, 2005
Booktrade.info pointed to an entertaining article about Empress Bianca in the Independent. It seems that Lady Colin's novel is not universally admired. A wealthy lady called Lily Safra has claimed that the book is a thinly veiled version of her own life. Being wealthy, Lily can afford some heavyweight lawyers. Being small, Arcadia can't. So Arcadia have withdrawn the book and promised to destroy all copies.
Lady Colin, meanwhile, takes a dim view of all this. Unless Lily Safra withdraws her claim, Lady C will sue her. Though for what, I am not entirely clear.
Well, I haven't read the book. But, assuming for the moment that Lady Colin can afford a decent lawyer, I would put money on her rather than the complainant. I would never in a thousand years advise anyone to write a novel about a real person. But, short of some sort of foolish admission from the author, I suspect that it is, generally speaking, quite hard to prove that a fictional character is based on anything other than the author's imagination.
Posted by Michael Allen. 11.03 am.
Comments:
Anonymous said... I read this book and knew Lily Safra and can say that it absolutely captured every nuance of her character (evil as it is) quite well. Having said that, isn't it bizarre that Lily would bring a lawsuit to stop the publishing of such a book? Don't you find that it only seems like an admission of guilt? Even more curious is why the publisher would so quickly capitulate and withdraw the books. Does UK law actually protect someone from a book of fiction that never uses her name? Wednesday, 03 August, 2005
Anonymous said... Do you still have the book? Is it for sale? Is it perhaps in PDF and can be downloaded? Wednesday, 05 October, 2005
Anonymous said... I really want to read Lady Colin Campbell's book: Empress Bianca. I understand 80 people in Brazil bought the book before it was banned. Sunday, 09 October, 2005
Dynasty Press, 36 Ravensdon Street, London SE11 4AR. Distributors: UK. Orca Book Services Ltd; US. Pathways; Designer: Two Associates;
Typesetters: Strange Attractor; Printers: Cromwell UK, Finland; Promoters: Colbert & Macalister, London.
Typesetters: Strange Attractor; Printers: Cromwell UK, Finland; Promoters: Colbert & Macalister, London.
Home |
About Us |
Authors |
Books |
Articles |
Links |
Contact |
www.dynastypress.co.uk
