title: The Spinster and the Prophet: H.G. Wells, Florence Deeks, and the Case of the Plagiarized Text
author:  A.B. McKillop 
description: When, in 1920, Florence Deeks finally received her rejected manuscript a feminist history of the world from Macmillan after eight months, she couldn't understand why it appeared in such bad condition, the pages worn, torn and dog-eared. Later that year, when she read H.G. Wells's new book, The Outline of History, published by Macmillan, she felt a chill. There were so many similarities to her own work: shared themes, organization, word choice, even the same mistakes. Florence made a dramatic decision she would sue Wells and his publisher for plagiarism. Years later, after a series of failed appeals, this reserved, dignified Toronto woman tried to bring her case to the king of England. It is a compelling story, part mystery, part legal thriller, always sympathetic to the intrepid Deeks, a woman trying to get a fair hearing in a man's world. McKillop's narrative directly challenges earlier accounts of Deeks v. Wells, which were all too eager to paint the plaintiff as a frustrated, obsessed spinster. The result is a wonderfully complex portrait of the two protagonists: Deeks, a shy, earnest, lionhearted woman; Wells, a bold, sexually promiscuous literary giant. The author handles the dual story line brilliantly, weaving together two opposing characters into one altogether gripping tale of literary theft. Photos. (Oct. 1) Forecast: Short-listed for several Canadian prizes and warmly received in Britain, this should be widely reviewed here and will appeal to readers of literary history and of women's history and, more broadly, to the kind of readers who flocked to The Professor and the Madman. <br />Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  Seducing the Spinster
  
  By
  
  Diana Bold
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
  products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to
  be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
  organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
  
  Seducing the Spinster
  
  By Diana Bold
  
  Copyright - November 2019
  
  Cover Artist: Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
  electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of
  brief quotations embodied in reviews.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Table of Contents
  
  [Title Page](index_split_000.html#filepos323)
  
  [Copyright Page](index_split_001.html#filepos621)
  
  [Author’s Note](index_split_003.html#filepos2360)
  
  [Prologue](index_split_004.html#filepos3189)
  
  [Chapter One](index_split_006.html#filepos14924)
  
  [Chapter Two](index_split_008.html#filepos37785)
  
  [Chapter Three](index_split_010.html#filepos