Plagiarism rocks romance world! Again!

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

Today I stumbled across Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books, a blog that reads and reviews romance novels for, well, smart bitches. It’s a great blog if you’re kinda sassy and love romance novels, by the way. It’s not often that blogs about the romance genre reference Homestar Runner, after all.

The blog posts regarding the “sexiest plagiarism scandal of 2008” are listed on the top of the right sidebar, but I’m going to link some highlights.

Apparently, earlier this month, the writers of this blog, Sarah and Candy, and a friend discovered that Cassie Edwards, a writer of romance novels of the “noble savage” type and of dubious quality, has borrowed rather freely and without revision from her reference materials. These are by all accounts bad books – not the kind smart bitches usually read. The bloggers were able to find most of the suspicious passages with some googling (phrases included “raccoon toothpick penis bone”). The first book they gave this treatment to revealed 16 different passages, from three different sources, included an article on black-footed ferrets. Very alluring, ferrets. I can see why Shiona fell for Shadow Bear, what with his mad ferret knowledge.

Paul Tolme, the author of the article on ferrets, responded in Newsweek with a very amusing article about his experience reading his own work in the most expected place. He says, “Had I known that my text would one day appear in a romance novel, I might have sexed up my story: ‘Hot-loving polecats do it in prairie dog holes.’” Indeed, Mr. Tolme, indeed.

Anyway, using the powers of Google and the nimble fingers of their blog readers, Sarah and Candy discovered more unattributed passages in four more of Edwards’ books. Those are only the ones they blogged about, though. They have a PDF of 20 of Edwards’ books with unattributed passages compiled by readers. Twenty! The PDF is the very first link in the right sidebar. The similarities go way beyond accidentally regurgitating information you had just read. For example:

At first light the desert is intimate, and somehow Shadow felt the presence of others as an intrusion this morning. …the blinding light of full day had not yet supplanted the soft greys of dawn, the uncertain forms and shapes of the cliffs had not yet become harsh with daylight, and the canyons were still soft with wells of coolness. The world was a secret place to each man…
p. 59

…and then rode into a canyon, its cliffs harsh by daylight, yet looming soft with coolness.
p. 416

from Savage Dream by Cassie Edwards, published 1990, republished 2003

At the first light, before dawn, the desert is intimate, and each man feels the presence of others as an intrusion. Blinding colour has not supplanted soft greys, uncertain forms; cliffs harsh by daylight, and thunderous-walled cañons loom soft with wells of coolness. The east is white—mother-of-pearl—the world is secret to each one’s self.
p. 42

from Laughing Boy by Olivia LaFarge, publish 1929, winning the Pullitzer Prize in 1930; version referenced here is the 2004 edition released by Houghton Mifflin

Taken from here.

That’s pretty awful. Unlike the other books she has apparently lifted things from, this is a work of fiction and not nonfiction. What the bloggers say in the page I linked pretty much sums up my feelings about stealing from a work of fiction.

Edwards has claimed that she didn’t know that she was supposed to attribute her research in her novels, and I suppose most authors don’t, because they don’t half-assed jobs paraphrasing from their sources. The extent of her “quoting” is enough to have her expelled from any university with a plagiarism policy. I’m finding it difficult to believe that any adult thought that they could take freely from that many works without asking for permission or attributing in any way.

Edwards has also allegedly responded via MySpace. The author that is mentioned speaking against her is Nora Roberts, who was involved in a similar situation when Janet Dailey was discovered to have plagiarized from Roberts’ work in 1997. Roberts was contacted by the Associated Press and spoke her mind. Basically, she said that Edwards should have known that what she was doing was wrong, and that she deserves to be punished in some way. This resulted in a bizarre outlash against Roberts in the comments on this post.

Romance Writers of America and Signet Books, Edwards’ current publisher, are withholding comment until a closer examination of her work can be made.

[Revenant_Threshold]

I’d heard about this. She’s plagiarised Longfellow amongst others, for frick’s sake.

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

Heh. Maybe she’s playing by 19th-century rules of plagiarism. Quote freely and quote often seemed to be the rule.

[Fretful_Porpentine]

I shared this story with my freshman comp students today. I think it makes a great teaching tool, especially when I’m trying to explain why Sudden Shifts in Authorial Voice tend to make professors suspicious.

“I read that ferrets stalk and kill prairie dogs during the night. Using their keen sense of smell and whiskers to guide them through pitch-black burrows, ferrets suffocate the sleeping prey, an impressive feat considering the two species are about the same weight,” Shiona said, shivering at the thought, for to her one animal was as cute and precious as the next. It was a shame that any had to die to sustain the other.

Heh.

[Biggirl]

That’s just LAZY. Lord have mercy, read about the damn ferrets and write your own sentence. Jesus!

[Shirley_Ujest]

@Revenant Threshold

I’d heard about this. She’s plagiarised Longfellow amongst others, for frick’s sake.

You said Longfellow. Heh.

Porny name.

[Evil_Captor]

@Miss Purl McKnittington

Heh. Maybe she’s playing by 19th-century rules of plagiarism. Quote freely and quote often seemed to be the rule.

Period plagiarism. How romantic!

Um, what harm was done with all this plagiarism? It does strike me as supremely stupid not to rewrite the stuff in her own words, but who got screwed here?

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

I searched the PDF file to find out what she plagiarized from Longfellow. Naturally, it was “Song of Hiawatha.” The passages start on page 78 of the PDF, and there are eight occurrences. She didn’t even bother to start in the middle of the poem – you know, the stuff people might have skimmed over in their English lit classes. Right from the first stanza, and pretty much a direct lift.

The odors of the forest, the dew and damp
meadow, and the curling smoke from the
wigwams […]

Savage Obsession, published 1983, page 436-7 in 2006 reprint

With the odors of the forest,
With the dew and damp of meadows,
With the curling smoke of wigwams

from Introduction, first stanza of “Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published 1855

Fucking egregious.

[j666]

@Evil Captor

… but who got screwed here?

Other than the ferrets?

[Catamount]

The most important part of all this is that the plagiarized bits about ferrets are presented as pillow talk. I often discuss the life of endangered species after the lovin’. :rolleyes:

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

@Evil Captor

Period plagiarism. How romantic!

Um, what harm was done with all this plagiarism? It does strike me as supremely stupid not to rewrite the stuff in her own words, but who got screwed here?

Well, it’s unethical to pass off other people’s work as your own, which she has done by including it without attribution, and apparently has done it throughout her career. She seems mostly to have borrowed from works that are either passed out of copyright or whose authors have passed out this world, so I suppose she’s only screwed them posthumously. But Paul Tolme’s article has been used without his permission or the permission of the publication it originally appeared in. She’s also “borrowed” heavily from books by modern scholars on Native American life. In the first twenty pages of the PDF provided by the Smart Bitches blog, I see Mari Sandoz and Kathryn Holland Braund, who are both scholars whose work I’ve encountered in classes on Native American history.

She’s profited from using other authors’ work, and has for nearly thirty years. That’s hardly a good thing.

And the ferrets have been used as a weird plot device. Don’t forget the ferrets.

[carnivorousplant]

@Miss Purl McKnittington

Naturally, it was “Song of Hiawatha.”

Written to the rhythm of a supposed Indian drum.
What the hell, you can sing Emily Dickinson’s poetry to The Yellow Rose of Texas.

I heard the guy interviewed on NPR Monday.
“I bet if you walked into a bat with a black footed ferret on your shoulder and recited some lines from that novel, you’d be golden.”

[Mahna_Mahna]

A romance novelist who shows a remarkable lack of originality? Perish the thought!

Though I have to admit that they normally stick to plagiarising themselves, rather than well-known dead authors and lesser-known living scholars.

[Evil_Captor]

@Miss Purl McKnittington

Well, it’s unethical to pass off other people’s work as your own, which she has done by including it without attribution, and apparently has done it throughout her career. She seems mostly to have borrowed from works that are either passed out of copyright or whose authors have passed out this world, so I suppose she’s only screwed them posthumously. But Paul Tolme’s article has been used without his permission or the permission of the publication it originally appeared in. She’s also “borrowed” heavily from books by modern scholars on Native American life. In the first twenty pages of the PDF provided by the Smart Bitches blog, I see Mari Sandoz and Kathryn Holland Braund, who are both scholars whose work I’ve encountered in classes on Native American history.

She’s profited from using other authors’ work, and has for nearly thirty years. That’s hardly a good thing.

And the ferrets have been used as a weird plot device. Don’t forget the ferrets.

Twenty paragraphs from a dozen different sources or so in a whole novel? Doesn’t really sound like wholesale copying to me. I agree it would be more gracious and generally nicer for her to own up to or at least thank her sources in her foreword, but I still don’t see how the originals are being harmed. I mean, you say “unethical” but why unethical? Who is harmed? What is the nature of the harm? If someone borrowed a paragraph or two from one of my novels and stuck it their novels I’d think they were rude and a bit of a dumbass, but I wouldn’t feel deeply wronged. Hell, if they made a lot of money doing it, I’d be gleeful – I could prolly sue 'em and maybe get some dough. That would be all right by me. But I don’t think romance novels pay a hell of a lot.

[MovieMogul]

@SpazCat

The most important part of all this is that the plagiarized bits about ferrets are presented as pillow talk. I often discuss the life of endangered species after the lovin’. :rolleyes:

“Hey sweet sweet lady? Have I ever told you about how I’m a passionate protector of the bonytail chub, the mountain beaver, and the humpback whale?”

[carnivorousplant]

HIs page has a link to the NPR interview.

[Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun]

Good artists borrow, great artists steal…and do so shit romance novelists.

[Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun]

@Two and a Half Inches of Fun

Good artists borrow, great artists steal…and do so shit romance novelists.

That should be:

Good artists borrow, great artists steal…and so do shit romance novelists.

[Little_Nemo]

Shiona fell into Shadow Bear’s arms. “You had me at weasel,” she sighed.

[Risha]

I was particularly amused by her plagiarizing the author’s note (page 80 in the pdf).

Evil Captor - She’s done this in multiple books that have been found so far, and I’m pretty sure that the googlers have yet to get to every page of her 100+ books written over 20 years.

And the estimates I’ve seen are that she’s made approximately $57 million dollars from those books.