Scandal in Spain

Gwyneth Box

On several occasions recently I have been telling friends about Patchword and my writing activities. And each time the response has been pretty much the same: Take care you don't end up in prison! That may seem a strange reaction, but here in Spain it is very topical. Almost any reasonably well-informed member of the public could tell you that the penalty for plagiarism is six months to two years in prison. And we are all eagerly waiting to hear if that will be the fate of Ana Rosa Quintana.

Quintana is the presenter of a Spanish TV chat-show ("Sabor a Ti" - "a Taste of You") which is shown on weekday afternoons. The three hour programme includes guest interviews, fashion, lots of gossip and phone calls from viewers around the country. In April, however, Quintana joined the list of famous authors with the publication of her first novel "Sabor a Hiel" - "a Taste of Bitterness".

The book, published by Planeta, one of Spain's largest publishing houses, received widespread publicity and sold over 100,000 copies. The plot concerns a woman who is mistreated by her partner, and Quintana has claimed that her intention was to raise public awareness of the subject of battered women. In fact she has raised public awareness of an entirely different topic - that of authorship, ghost writing and production-line bestsellers.

The facts of the matter began to become public in early October when the magazine Interviú published an article under the title Literary Scandal. There are many and conflicting reports of the exact sequence of events, but the basic story seems to be as follows:

 April 2000 Sabor a Hiel is published & achieves great success.

 July Quintana receives a letter form a reader suggesting that certain paragraphs are identical to paragraphs from Mujeres de Grandes Ojos (Women with Big Eyes) by the Mexican author Ángeles Mastretta.

 Planeta produces at least one more edition without making any changes.

 Another reader points out similarities between other paragraphs and sections taken from a Danielle Steel novel.

 Early October Quintana claims that it is all due to the complexities of modern technology and her lack of IT expertise. Apparently only one chapter of her novel is affected. Planeta decide to produce a revised edition of Sabor a Hiel. Rumours abound that Quintana did not actually write the book herself. And quite possibly never even read it.

 October 9th Interviú magazine publishes the article Literary Scandal where more sections of Quintana's book are shown to be almost exact copies of the Danielle Steel novel Family Album. Some 28 instances are cited. Planeta decide not to go ahead with the revised edition and decide to withdraw Sabor a Hiel.

 October 22nd Quintana admits that she was 'helped' to write the novel and blames her assistant for the plagiarism. She describes herself as a victim and innocent of all wrong-doing, but admits ultimate responsibility since the novel bears her name.

 October 23rd Sabor a Hiel is reported to include a fragment of Colleen McCullough's novel The Thorn Birds.

 Late October The viewing audience of Quintana's chatshow has increased, and demand for the supposedly withdrawn novel is high. Jokes are made that this is because every author wants a copy to see if his own work appears in it anywhere.

Although it is a very serious subject, it is hard not to laugh at some of the excuses that have been made. It seems that as part of the research for the book various 'helpers' supplied Quintana with similar texts from published works. She was intending to see how scenes, such as one of a birth, had been handled by other authors. That's why she had the other texts on her hard disk and somehow managed to copy instead of delete. She is also reported to have said that because it was her first novel and it written over many months while she was still working on her TV show she needed help to meet the deadline.

What is really confusing about the whole story is the possible motivation behind it. It is true that Quintana is a member of the executive committee of the Madrid Press Association, but she had not published anything previously. So why should a successful TV personality see the need to branch out into authorship? What possible financial difference could even the most successful of novels make? So, if it was not for financial motives, why should she do it? Did she feel a need to convince the public that she was a more serious person than she seems as a chatshow hostess? Or was it the the publishing house that made her an offer she couldn't refuse?

The idea of ghost writing is common in Spain where the ghost writer is refered to in very non-pc terms as a 'black'. Many of the most popular columnists have worked as ghost writers before getting their break. But the Quintana affair has made everyone reconsider the situation. The supposed 'helper' here was Quintana's ex-brother-in-law, David Rojo (ironically, David "Red"). He is mentioned on the acknowledgements page of the book, where he is thanked for "the innumerable hours that we have worked together on this novel, for his meticulous research and for the all the glaring errors which we have removed from the final version". Nowhere does it give the impression that the book might actually have been written by him.

Of course there have always been ghost writers - Colette, Gore Vidal and Graham Greene all wrote works which others signed. But perhaps the more recent 'need' for the famous to show their literary talents has increased the problem. But is it fair to expect famous people to be literary heavyweights? Surely we should be content to read a book where the famous name is coupled with that of the real writer.

Recently translators have begun to receive more recognition for their efforts, indeed, it is rumoured that the translator of the Danielle Steel's Family Album is as likely to sue Quintana as the plagiarised authors are. Perhaps we should recognise the ghost writers as translators. That is, after all, what they do: translate someone else's ideas into words for the public to read.