28:
148:, in a religious family. Her mother, Melinda, was a strong believer in education. Her brother George found a new way to lay railway tracks, which enabled him to earn a fortune. He provided important financial support to his family, including Florence during the later legal trials. By her own account she spent most of her twenties travelling in Europe and America, studying literature and art. When Florence was thirty she was admitted to Victoria College in the
250:, wrote an article responding to McKillop's thesis. Magnusson concluded that while Deeks may have received some discriminatory treatment from lawyers in the case, she was treated fairly by the courts. He concludes she had a weak case, and the courts would give a similar result if the case came forward at the present time.
206:, then an associate professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature at the University of Toronto agreed to help her. He was interested in applying the same methods of textual analysis and comparison he used in his studies of ancient literature. He considered that there was convincing proof of plagiarism.
238:
Although the wording of the two books is rarely identical, in some cases the same mistakes appear in both books. However, it was sworn on oath at the trial that the manuscript remained in
Toronto in the safekeeping of Macmillan, and that Wells did not even know it existed, let alone had seen it. The
225:
Deeks finally appealed to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the final court of appeal in the British Empire. She could no longer afford a lawyer, so argued her own case in front of the Judicial Committee on 1 October 1932. A month later, on 3 November 1932, the Judicial
159:
in the mid-1890s, although the first record of her membership is from 1903. In 1912 she prepared a "historical sketch" of the early years of the association. She was active in other women's groups and was the recording secretary for the
Toronto women's Liberal Club.
246:, a Canadian historian, explores the case in detail. Although the author clearly believes that Wells plagiarized Deeks' work, he presents no definitive proof. Three years after McKillop's book appeared, Denis Magnusson, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Law at
209:
Deeks launched her suit in 1928. Deeks claimed breach of copyright, but in substance she was claiming breach of confidence in the use of her manuscript without consent. She sued Wells and
Macmillan for damages of CDN$ 500,000 in the
188:, a book for which they held the copyright. Deeks entrusted the manuscript to Macmillan in August 1918, and it was returned to her in April 1919. The manuscript was well-thumbed and dog-eared. Macmillan had rejected it.
202:(published 1919–1920), and was struck by the similarities to her work, but she had no proof that Wells had seen her manuscript. Over the next few years she consulted with experts and analyzed the similarities. The Rev.
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gave the decision for the
Committee. He stated that evidence presented on the basis of literary criticism is not admissible in a court of law, and upheld the decisions of the lower courts.
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court found no proof of copying, and decided the similarities were due to the fact that the books had similar nature and both writers had access to the same sources.
218:, found that Irwin's results were "fantastic hypotheses ... solemn nonsense ... comparisons without significance." Her case was dismissed. She then appealed to the
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The case may have been lost in part due to bias against Deeks as a woman. Deeks' lack of influential connections may also have been a factor. A 2001 book by
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Deeks decided to write a history of the world that showed the contributions that women had made. Her aim was to demonstrate the importance of women such as
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was complete by
February 1918. Deeks submitted it to Macmillan Company in Canada, asking if they would object to her using extracts from
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180:. She spent four years researching and writing, with the support of her mother, sisters and brother. The manuscript of
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222:, appearing on her own behalf without a lawyer. The Appellate Division unanimously dismissed the appeal.
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747:
Magnusson, Denis N. (Spring 2004). "Hell Hath No Fury: Copyright
Lawyers' Lessons from Deeks v. Wells".
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152:. She studied there for several years, then became a teacher at the Presbyterian Ladies College.
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The
Spinster and the Prophet: Florence Deeks, H.G. Wells, and the Mystery of the Purloined Past
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118:(1864–1959) was a Canadian teacher and writer. She is known for accusing British writer
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The
Heiress vs the Establishment: Mrs. Campbell's Campaign for Legal Justice
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The Privy
Council as the Final Court for the British Empire
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Backhouse, Constance; Backhouse, Nancy L. (2005-01-31).
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602:(March 1978). "Professor Irwin and the Deeks Affair".
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Florence Amelia Deeks was born in 1864 and grew up in
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665:"Florence A. Deeks v H.G. Wells and others (1932)"
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696:100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces
501:Florence A. Deeks v H.G. Wells... Supreme Court
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339:Florence A. Deeks v H.G. Wells... Supreme Court
220:Appellate Division of the Ontario Supreme Court
130:Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council
720:Greenspan, Ezra; Rose, Jonathan (2001-09-13).
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122:of having plagiarized her work when he wrote
8:
582:"Famous Plagiarists: Could it Happen Today?"
871:"Book Review: The Spinster and the Prophet"
811:"The Bible and the Rules of Legal Evidence"
672:The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
525:The case of the invisible woman, Telegraph
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26:
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947:20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers
942:19th-century Canadian non-fiction writers
674:. Supreme Court of the UK. Archived from
653:, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
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366:The Spinster and the Prophet, Economist
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128:. The case was eventually taken to the
32:Florence (right) with her sister Annie
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196:Deeks later came across H. G. Wells'
186:A Short History of the English People
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957:20th-century Canadian women writers
952:19th-century Canadian women writers
626:1930 CarswellOnt, 167 4 D.L.R. 513
258:Deeks died in 1959, aged about 95.
962:Canadian women non-fiction writers
637:1931 CarswellOnt 247 4 D.L.R. 533
580:Bailey, Jonathan (31 March 2009).
14:
830:"The case of the invisible woman"
226:Committee dismissed her appeal.
157:Women's Art Association of Canada
849:"The Spinster and the Prophet"
760:Mckillop, Brian (2011-11-30).
513:Backhouse & Backhouse 2005
182:The Web of the World's Romance
1:
33:
248:Queen's University, Kingston
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176:and Margarethe, mother of
164:Web of the World's Romance
155:Deeks probably joined the
809:Riss, Richard M. (1996).
787:Richardson, Ivor (2012).
423:Greenspan & Rose 2001
25:
967:Plagiarism controversies
212:Supreme Court of Ontario
937:Canadian schoolteachers
693:Forster, Merna (2004).
610:(1). SF-TH Inc: 90–92.
604:Science Fiction Studies
214:. The trial judge, Mr
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875:Canadian Woman Studies
869:Thomas, Clara (2001).
649:[1932] UKPC 66
199:The Outline of History
174:Elizabeth I of England
125:The Outline of History
150:University of Toronto
116:Florence Amelia Deeks
20:Florence Amelia Deeks
766:. Random House LLC.
726:. Penn State Press.
640:, Ont. S.C. App.Div.
204:William Andrew Irwin
749:Queen's Law Journal
474:Deeks v. Wells 1932
447:Deeks v. Wells 1931
435:Deeks v. Wells 1930
170:Lucrezia de' Medici
836:. 17 February 2001
106:Legal battle with
857:. 1 February 2001
789:"D Deeks v Wells"
773:978-1-55199-621-9
706:978-1-55002-514-9
600:Clarke, Arthur C.
566:978-0-7748-5073-5
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815:the original
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737:. Retrieved
723:Book History
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74:(1959-06-17)
72:17 June 1959
932:1959 deaths
927:1864 births
699:. Dundurn.
629:, Ont. S.C.
489:Bailey 2009
411:Clarke 1978
378:Clarke 1978
300:Thomas 2001
146:Canada West
136:Early years
120:H. G. Wells
108:H. G. Wells
85:Nationality
62:Canada West
37: 1880
921:Categories
892:2014-07-12
861:2014-07-12
840:2014-07-12
821:2014-07-12
801:2014-07-12
779:2014-07-05
739:2014-07-12
712:2014-07-12
685:2014-07-12
657:2014-07-12
591:2014-07-12
572:2014-07-12
262:References
234:Assessment
228:Lord Atkin
142:Morrisburg
58:Morrisburg
50:1864-09-04
887:0713-3235
462:Riss 1996
267:Citations
89:Canadian
616:4239167
546:Sources
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881:(2).
792:(PDF)
679:(PDF)
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612:JSTOR
254:Death
883:ISSN
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728:ISBN
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561:ISBN
69:Died
44:Born
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