Emma Cline is an American writer from the state of California who has risen to recent prominence. Recently, her name has been in the news because of a lawsuit claiming that she plagiarized parts of her best-selling novel via the use of spyware, which has resulted in her counter-suing.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Emma Cline:
Published First Book in 2016
Cline is best-known for The Girls, which is her first novel. For those who are curious, The Girls was inspired by the Manson Family. However, it is not focused on a Charles Manson equivalent but rather on the women around him, which explains why it is named as it is. So far, The Girls has been met with a positive reception in both a critical and a commercial sense, which explains why Cline has been propelled into the spotlight to such an extent.
Published Stories in a Number of Publications
Besides The Girls, Cline has published some stories in various publications. For example, she has a story called “Marion” that was published in the Summer 2013 issue of The Paris Review. Furthermore, Cline has had stories published in Granta, Tin House, and The New Yorker, which is something that speaks well of her skills as a writer in spite of her recent rise to prominence.
Focused More on the Story than Historical Accuracy
In an interview, Cline made it clear that she was much more concerned about getting the story right than focusing on ensuring 100 percent historical accuracy. This can be seen in how it is clear that The Girls is set in the 1960s but nonetheless makes none of the pop culture references that have filled out works set in the same times, thus contributing to a more timeless feel for the whole. Overall, Cline’s intent was to achieve a certain feel for the novel, which she has described as a sense of menace situated besides Californian sunshine.
Accused of Plagiarizing
Recently, Cline was sued by her ex-boyfriend Chaz Reetz-Laiolo, who claimed that parts of her novel was plagiarized from his emails as well as his writings. The lawsuit claims that this was made possible by spyware that had been installed onto a computer that Cline sold to Reetz-Laiolo, which enabled her to gain access to a screenplay called All Sea that he had been working on as well as some of his accounts. For those who are curious, Reetz-Laiolo is being represented by David Boies’s law firm, which is a name that might be familiar to some because Boies was involved in covering up Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct.
Has Countersued
Since being sued, Cline has counter-sued. She admits that she used spyware to look into Reetz-Laiolo’s cheating when they were still in a relationship with one another. However, she denies that there is any truth to the claim that she plagiarized his work and states that the lawsuit is a malicious attempt to destroy her reputation as a writer. It is interesting to note that Cline’s publisher Random House is standing by her, having voiced its support in a clear and unambiguous manner.
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