http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0218/J.K.-Rowling-faces-another-plagiarism-suit
The aspect I am going to discuss is the connections between JK Rowling and the man who accused her, Adrian Jacobs. In 1987, Jacobs wrote a book called "The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No. 1 Livid Land." He claims that there are many similarities between his book and JK Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Obviously, because Jacobs’ book was written in 1987, he could accuse Rowling of plagiarism and not vice versa. Now, off the bat, this case seems questionable. Wizards and magic have been favored literary topics for centuries. Jacobs cannot go and say that Rowling copied him by having her main character be a young wizard. However, there are some connections between the two authors, Jacobs and Rowling that do make this case look suspicious. Rowling’s agent, Christopher Little, was once Jacob’s agent. Rowling has been quoted of using authors such as Chaucer, Shakespeare and C. S. Lewis as inspirations, yet claims to have never read Jacobs book. But how can we be certain that Rowling didn’t subconsciously use ideas from her inspirations, and possibly other authors, such as Jacobs. We cannot be certain. Lauren Barack, a writer for the Library Journal, has stated, “they do mirror many archetypes and story arcs found in popular tales." With these connections in mind, it is probably best to check out this accusation to see if it is in fact true.
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