So allegations are enough these days then?
The publisher of a highly anticipated and widely discussed biography of Philip Roth is pulling the book and cutting ties with author Blake Bailey, who faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
WW Norton and Company, which previously released Bailey's 2014 memoir The Splendid Things We Planned, said on Tuesday it was "permanently putting out of print our editions of Philip Roth: The Biography and The Splendid Things We Planned … Mr Bailey will be free to seek publication elsewhere if he chooses."
It also said it would match the amount of Bailey's book advance to donate to "organisations that fight against sexual assault or harassment and work to protect survivors".
Presumably Marx is about to go out of print then. He did, after all, groom Helene Demuth into giving him a son – she was a servant, that was a position of power and authority over her.
Or doesn't it work that way?
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5 thoughts on "So allegations are enough these days then?"
Diogenes April 28, 2021 at 7:42 am
It might be a good move to set up a publisher that sacked staff members who protest against books. Lots of lit graduates who think they want to be publishers come on the market every year. They are a replaceable resource
Boganboy April 28, 2021 at 9:55 am
'Or doesn't it work that way?'
Well yes. It does depend on what the allegations are, and crucially, who is the alligator—–oops who alleges them.
MC April 28, 2021 at 10:17 am
The allegations seem rather bizarre. It seems he was a middle school teacher in the 90s and is accused of 'grooming' some children, but not actually assaulting them until they were of age. One woman accuses him of raping her when she was 22; the allegation seems to be that he acted inappropriately when she was in her early teens, but then went on to rape her a decade later, something she reported two decade later.
The story is being ramped up to make Bailey seem like a nonce, however, he had sex (consensual he says) with this woman when he was in his early 30s and her in her early 20s. So there's no power dynamic because she's years out of school and he doesn't even count as a dirty old man. And no one reported any of this to the police at any point.
Sounds like a crock of shit to me. The poor guy's career and reputation are thoroughly ruined now and he has no comeback.
Grikath April 28, 2021 at 3:29 pm
Hmm.. given what MC wrote..
One Night Stand when she expected more and didn't get a Ring, even with a prenup?
US Wymmin seem to have a remarkable accurate memory for that stuff spanning decades, while not being able to describe their wardrobe two years ago..
And they're not vindictive at all… /sarc
Diogenes April 28, 2021 at 4:56 pm
However, sales of the book are booming
Within hours after the revelations and Norton's announcement, the book rose in rank on Amazon from about 700 to 10. Norton's marketing team had achieved a woke dream: resoundingly establishing the company's virtue and making a quick buck all at once. You can bet that the book will stay in print—and return to stores.
https://www.city-journal.org/philip-roth-blake-bailey-liberal-hypocrisy
Great quote from the biography
One lovely sun-dappled afternoon I sat on his studio couch, listening to our greatest living novelist empty his bladder, and reflected that this was about as good as it gets for an American literary biographer
And of course all the editors fawned over Philip Roth while he was behaving in the most non-woke way possible
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