Plagiarism: Linda La Plante’s Work Entwined With The Five Chimneys

LINDA La Plante denies copying passges of her book Entwined from a 1947 book called Five Chimneys, by a Holocaust survivor, Olga Lengyel.

La Plante:

What conception could Dr Mengele have had of the medical work he did in the camp? His experiments, lacking scientific value, were no more than foolish playing, and all his activities were full of contradictions.

I saw him take every precaution during an accouchement, watching to see that all aseptic principles were rigorously observed and that the umbilical cord was cut with care. Half an hour later he sent the mother and child to the crematory oven.

Lengyel:

Whatever concept lay behind Mengele’s work in the camp, his experiments lacked any scientific value, all his actions full of contradictions. He would take every precaution during a childbirth, noting and observing that all aseptic principles were rigorously observed and that the umbilical cord was cut with care. Half an hour later mother and new-born infant would be sent to the gas chambers.

Says the Sydney Morning Herald:

When the Herald asked her how this came about, La Plante did not reply directly. Through her lawyers, she said she had never read Five Chimneys herself, but that a research assistant she no longer uses may have lifted the passages for her.

So was her research assistant actually an author? And who actually wrote the book? If writers don’t do their own writing, what do they do?

Anorak

Posted: 8th, September 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Celebrities Comments (3) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink