The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle -- Part XII
The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle


Part XII: Plagiarism? What plagiarism?

As for Cassie, whose name came up as well, those charges of plagiarism are so, so old, and she's proven herself against them time and time again--among other things, she got the blessing of the writer whose work she incorporated into her fanfiction, and has the benediction of several published authors who enjoy her writing entirely on its own merits--while her accuser ff.net continues to wallow around in its own self-important inanity.

I've never met anyone with a greater sense of fairness and integrity than Cassie. And if her defense against plagiarism charges is enough to gain the good opinions of her loyal, and multifold, friends, who know exactly what kind of people she and Penelope are, then it ought to be enough for strangers like you, who make your accusations and drag an entire fandom down in the mud with you, without even knowing the characters of the people you're slandering. --Aja

***

Cassie's writing makes my toes curl with envy. She is the rare writer who can write fast-paced dramatic fantasy with gorgeous language and memorable characters that you grow to love and worry about, as well as really funny bits that will make you honestly laugh and remember them and repeat them to your friends.

It is rare to find someone who can do any one of those things well-- to find someone who can do all of them is just dangerous. --Holly Black

I have always known that writing my account would require me to write a section like this, and the difficulty of producing it is one of the main reasons my account has remained unposted. I make no claims that this is comprehensive-- if I make any claim at all, it's that it is not comprehensive. These are simply sections mentioned by others or that I happened to notice skimming through a couple of chapters of Draco Sinister.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 11 It moved towards them swiftly, but before Harry had time to do more than step back, Draco had raised his sword and put the blade through its face. It made a noise like a bucketful of water being poured into a patch of mud, staggered back and collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from its head. ... As Draco and Harry gazed in horror, the dead-looking guard on the floor wavered and blurred and became a squat, scaly creature that leaped to its feet and charged at Draco again. ... He swung the sword at it and managed to slice open its throat. This did very little good, as it immediately turned into a tall man carrying a longsword, and charged at him. Harry stopped thinking and let the sword in his hand do its work - he had already discovered that if he cleared his mind, it seemed to come to life in his hand, or, more likely, that the undercurrent of knowledge from Draco was able to work its way up and direct his arm. But every time he tried to analyze what he was doing, he lost his footing or missed a stroke, so he stopped trying to plan and let his instincts take over, catching at the unfamiliar names of the motions he was making as they fled under the surface of his mind: bind, double bind, circle parry, riposte. He quickly slaughtered the longsword man-shape, which turned into a wolf, which turned into a large, fox-like creature, which turned into a petite beautiful woman in a leather breastplate. This last incarnation startled Harry so much that he staggered back and nearly lost his footing. He had barely a chance to blink when something silver whipped over his head and embedded itself in the shape-changer´s chest. It was Fleur´s knife.

Pamela Dean, The Hidden Land 179: "Ted put the sword through the face of the third person who attacked him, and stared horror-struck at the result." Pamela Dean, The Secret Country 139: "The sword rang as Patrick drew it, and the beast made a noise like a bucketful of water thrown into a patch of mud." Pamela Dean, The Hidden Land 172: "In that time, three squat scaled things came at Ted, who swung at them all and missed, and were dispatched by Matthew." 173: "Once he had cleared his mind, the sword seemed to come to life; or more likely, that undercurrent of knowledge from Edward was able to work its way up and direct his arm. Every time he tried to analyze what he was doing, he missed his aim and had to be rescued by Matthew. After the third rescue, Ted stopped trying to analyze anything." Pamela Dean, The Secret Country 286: "They left great shining swaths in the clear air, like fireworks but unfading. Ted caught at the names of their motions as they fled under his mind: bind, double bind, circle parry, riposte." (thanks to wombat1138) Pamela Dean, The Hidden Land 182: "But as each man went down he blurred and wavered and became a small dark woman in leather armor; and as those were injured they turned into large fox-like creatures; and when they crumpled up bloodily they became inky shadows with red eyes, hugging the ground. Ted's and Randolph's swords went into them and came out smoking, but the shadows seemed none the worse for that."

The current citation says, "Nightmare Grass comes from The Secret Country by Pamela Dean. So does the idea of shapechangers who you have to kill in every shape they can transform into."

The shape-shifters come from The Hidden Land, not The Secret Country, and the use of the specific lines and forms of the shape-shifters is not cited.

I previously posted a portion of this plagiarism in a discussion with Heidi on Fandom Wank's Greatest Hits.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 11 "Is it dead?" Harry hissed, his voice hard. "Not yet," said Draco, and almost as if it had heard him, its huge dinner-plate eyes snapped wide open and staring. And it spoke. "You," it snarled, and its voice was like gravel running over sandpaper. Its gaze was fixed on Draco, who almost involuntarily took a step forward. The manticore´s scarlet-black eyes followed his movement, glittering. "You," it said again. "I am dying, and so I know you." The beast´s eyes rolled, the whites showing briefly. It seemed to be struggling to move. "Master," it growled. "Why do you slay me? It was you who made me what I am." Draco stared, feeling his heart beating in slow, uneven thumps as the adrenaline slowly drained out of his veins, leaving him dizzy and sick. "No," he said, his voice harsh. "Not me." "I know you," said the manticore again, and then a great spasm wracked its body; its eyes shut, and it died.

Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon (p. 128, as printed in The Great Book of Amber) But the one I had halved was not yet dead. Its head turned toward me and those blazing eyes met my own and held them. "I die the final death," it said, "and so I know you, Opener. Why do you slay us?" And then the flames consumed its head.

Not cited.

In The Guns of Avalon, the beasts recognize Corwin because his curse on Eric caused a rift-- taking the form of a black circle or black road-- which opened the way for Chaos beasts to invade Amber.

I think Cassandra Claire's description of the manticore in this scene is also quite similar to Zelazny's description of a manticora in The Guns of Avalon. The manticore is a mythical beast, but I find three similarities between Cassandra Claire's description and Zelazny's description interesting: both beasts have wings, a "scorpion" tail, and neither beast is described as "red." (Manticores commonly have a red lion's body in myths and legends, do not always have wings, and can have either a dragon's or scorpion's tail.) Still, Zelazny's description is within the bounds of normal description. Therefore, I'm not including that material.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 8 But I could still try, he thought...he recalled an extremely fancy move he had learned from his father a year ago and had been practicing in secret, involving a beat, a feint in quarte, a feint in sixte, and a lunge veering off into an attack on the opponent's sword hand. He launched into the sequence and saw Lucius' eyes widen in surprise; felt as brief thrill of victory as the tip of his sword nicked Lucius' hand -- before his father, swifter and with greater reach, lunged forward and slammed the flat of his weapon against Draco's wrist. Draco stared in dismay as his numb fingers released his blade.

Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber (p. 64-5, as printed in The Great Book of Amber) I tried a very fancy attack I'd learned in France, which involved a beat, a feint in quarte, a feint in sixte, and a lunge veering off into an attack on his wrist. I nicked him and the blood flowed. ... And he lunged then and beat me back, and I felt suddenly that for all my work he was still my master. He was perhaps one of the greatest swordsmen I had ever faced. I suddenly had the feeling that I couldn't take him, and I parried like mad and retreated in the same fashion as he beat me back, step by step.

Cassandra Claire mentioned this fight specifically in one of her early excuses, so I looked it up for this account.

Current citation: "2) A beat, a feint in quarte, a feint in sixte, and a lunge veering off into an attack on the opponent's sword hand. This is very famously Prince Corwin's classic diarming move in Nine Princes in Amber."

For the record, this is not "Corwin's classic disarming move." Corwin uses this attack exactly once in the series in a fight with his brother Eric.

The move itself is cited, but there's more language borrowed and further similarities in the fight-- with both Draco and Corwin trying the move in desperation in a fight they're losing against a superior opponent. While the attack is initially successful, the opponent recovers his momentum and lunges.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 14 Draco brought the sword down, a wave of brilliant green fire. The blade struck against the Snake Lord´s wrist, neatly severing his hand. He shrieked aloud as fire poured from his wounded arm, an indescribable shriek of rage and horror, and his severed hand tumbled at Draco´s feet. Beyond disgust, beyond anything but a terrible sort of exultation, Draco seized the mutilated hand of the Snake Lord, clamped the fingers tong-like around the hilt of his sword, and flung them together into the pentagram inked on the floor. He threw his head back then, and, his voice furious and carrying, shouted at the invisible forces of Hell. "There you go! Your half of the bargain! Given to you by his own hand, the hand of the Snake Lord himself! Take it, damn you, and use it!"

Tanith Lee's "A Lynx With Lions" (short story, 1982, page 259 as printed in Dreams of Dark and Light) And saw his own hand, severed just above the wrist and lying, bleeding and lost, under the edge of Cyrion's sword. ... Cyrion, having taken Ysemid's severed hand in his own, had clamped its fingers, tonglike, on the sapphire and ripped the amulet free. ... Now, gaining his feet without effort, Cyrion flung the bloody hand and its gem into the sand before Karuil-Ysem. ... Cyrion, his voice dry and eroded, shouted at Karuil. "Plucked from him by his own hand, and given you by his own hand. Pick it up, damn you, and use it."

Not cited.

As Spartina Pectinata twice noted, the Slytherin subplot is based on this story, with demons requiring the villain to give them an item "with his own hand," and the hero chopping off that hand with his sword, then using that hand to give the demons the item. The demons then take the villain away.

I can't evaluate whether there is other borrowing from Tanith Lee. I've read very little of her work.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 10 "He deserves better than that," said Sirius. He was still looking down at the knife, which he had taken from Lucius' armory because it was the finest weapon he could find, and because the opals in the hilt reminded him of moons, and it seemed fitting. In the back of his mind came something Lupin had said to him once, looking up at the half-moon as he did so, We think that we invent symbols, but in reality they invent us. We are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. Draco Sinister, Chapter 6 (describes the demon) Then something exploded out of the wardrobe with the force of a cannonball, and careened into Ron, knocking him to the ground. His wand went skittering out of his hand and he yelled out loud in pain, throwing his arms up to protect his face from the intruder - which, Harry saw, had grayish, leathery skin and whirling red eyes, and long, spatulated fingers that it wrapped around Ron's throat. It was a demon. Draco Sinister, Chapter 8 (describes the demon) ...a gray, wrinkled face set with brilliant red eyes like coruscating jewels. Draco Sinister, Chapter 10 Sirius took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the demon's red ones. "Who are 'we'? What's your name, anyway? Do you even have one?" The demon looked shifty. "Very well. As a sign of good will I will tell you my name. It is Strygalldvir. Conjure with it and I will eat your heart and liver." Sirius doubted he'd be doing much conjuring with a name he couldn't even pronounce.

Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer (p. 90 as printed in Shadow and Claw) Her bitter blade was an ell in length, straight and square-pointed as such a sword's should be. Man-edge and woman-edge could part a hair to within a span of the guard, which was of thick silver with a carven head at either end. Her grip was onyx bound with silver bands, two spans long and terminated with an opal. Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer (p. 14 as printed in Shadow and Claw) We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon (p. 146 as printed in The Great Book of Amber) Then I was looking into two hot, red eyes which were looking back into my own. ... It was well over six feet in height, with great branches of antlers growing out of its forehead. Nude, its flesh was a uniform ash-gray in color. It appeared to be sexless, and it had gray, leathery wings extending far out behind it and joining with the night. It held a short, heavy sword of dark metal in its right hand, and there were runes carved all along the blade. With its left hand, it clutched at the lattice. "Enter at your peril," I said loudly, and I raised the point of Grayswandir to indicate its breast. It chuckled. It just stood there and chuckled and giggled at me. It tried to meet my eyes once more, but I would not let it. If it looked into my eyes for long, it would know me, as the hellcat had known me. ... "Who are you?" I asked. "Strygalldwir is my name. Conjure with it and I will eat your heart and liver." "Conjure with it? I can't even pronounce it," I said, "and my cirrhosis would give you indigestion. Go away."

Thanks to Spartina for commenting on Strygalldwir.

The current citations describing these passages read: '4)" We think that we invent symbols, but in reality they invent us. We are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." -- Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer.' and '5)" It is Strygalldvir. Conjure with it and I will eat your heart and liver." - Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon.'

The other lines are uncited. I reference the descriptions of the demon in earlier chapters of Draco Sinister to make the point that not only is the name and the line of dialogue borrowed, the demon itself looks like Zelazny's description of Strygalldwir.

As for the sword/dagger with the opal: the line about symbols was cited to Wolfe's novel, so I looked at the nearby lines in Draco Sinister and noticed the description of the dagger. I did a search through the book on Amazon for the word "opal." I found another beautiful weapon with an opal in its hilt. You may think it's not particularly similar, but, hey, interesting coincidence, isn't it?


In chapter 14 of Draco Sinister, Ron draws Harry and Draco's cell on the wall with magic pencils, and Sirius, Ron, and Hermione walk through the picture. These specific lines stand out:

Draco Sinister, Chapter 14 Ron glanced at Sirius and then at Hermione, who was staring at him hopefully. "I can try," he said. "Have you got any parchment?" Sirius shook his head. "I want you to draw it as close to life-sized as you can. On the wall, over there. And..." Ron looked at him. "What?" "Try to hurry." ... Finally, Ron stepped back, clutching the stump of the last a pencil in his hand. "That's all I can do," he said. "All right. The power is there. I can feel it." Sirius was struck by the sensation emanating from Ron's sketch, almost as if the boy had put a little of his own magic into the drawing. It was so reminiscent of the feeling he'd had when Wormtail first handed him the Marauder's Map, the feeling that great and terrible things could happen just by using it. ... The three of them moved silently in front of the drawing, and they concentrated on the cell, and on Draco and Harry, and recalled them. Sirius could almost feel the pulse of his charm at his wrist as he concentrated on the drawing and the boys. The magic from the pencils was still there, for as he gazed at the lines of the drawing on the wall, they seemed to leap out into three dimensions, gathering reality to them. Sirius heard footsteps which he knew were not his, and saw a faint blue glow bleed out from the drawing on the wall. As one, they stepped forward, closing their eyes.

Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon, Chapter 9 (pp 112-114 as printed in The Great Book of Amber) "Now, if you'll give me a pen and a piece of parchment, I'll be returning to my own rooms. ..." ... "I have a stylus here," I told him (the spoon was fairly sharp by then), "and I'd like to see it traced upon the far wall, so that I might look at it as I take my rest." ... "You'll have to sketch rapidly, because my supply of matches is limited. ..." ... I turned quickly and considered the Lighthouse of Cabra before the match failed. Yes, the power was there. I could feel it. The glow spread up the wall as the flames danced higher, and I concentrated on the tower and recalled it. I thought I heard the cry of a gull. I sniffed something like a salt breeze, and the place became more real as I stared. ... The magic was still there, in Dworkin's hand, for soon the lighthouse seemed as real to me as my cell. Then it seemed the only reality, and the cell but a Shadow at my back. ... I stepped forward, but my foot did not descend into the fire.

Not cited. Thanks to Spartina for mentioning this scene.

Again, same scene structure. In both scenes, the artist must draw on the wall of a cell due to lack of parchment. In both scenes, the artist must hurry-- in Dworkin's case, because Corwin has only a limited supply of matches to light the cell; in Ron's case, because Harry and Draco are in danger. Both Sirius and Corwin feel the power of the drawing-- and use the same words to describe it. As with the giant Trump, the picture becomes more real as they stare at it-- bursting into three dimensions and reality.

There's a scene in Draco Sinister, Chapter 14, where Draco is walking a "pattern." As he does, memories come flooding into his mind. It's highly reminiscent of a similar scene in Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber (where Corwin walks the pattern in Rebma and recovers his memories), but is not a direct copy. This passage is now cited: "The Pattern that gives Daco flashes of memory and represents his life is inspired by the Pattern in the Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny." It was not cited last week.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 14 Ben blinked, as if this had not occurred to him. "When my father died," he said slowly, "he cursed his murderer. The death-curse of a wizard with Slytherin blood is a powerful thing and they often come to pass." ... "You can´t win against him," said Gareth simply. "He´s too powerful. It took the power of the houses of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff combined to bring him down, and even then he couldn´t be killed. What can you do? You´re only children. He´ll destroy you all, massacre your armies where they stand, and carve flutes for veela children out of your bleached bones."

Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber (p. 53 as printed in The Great Book of Amber) If he was going to pay-- whatever the price-- for whatever he had done, I could see that he would pay it like a true prince of Amber-- as our three dead brothers had done ages ago, I suddenly recalled. He would pay it, mocking them the while, laughing though his mouth was filled with the blood of his body, and as he died he would pronounce an irrevocable curse which would come to pass. I too, had this power, I suddenly knew, and I would use it if circumstances required its use. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2: "Surprise" Giles: Um... He, he, he couldn't be killed, yes? Um, a-an army was sent against him. Most of them died... but, uh, finally they were able to dismember him, but, uh... not kill him. Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon (p. 147 as printed in The Great Book of Amber) "Tonight I will suck the marrow from your bones!" it said. "I will dry them and work them most cunningly into instruments of music! Whenever I play upon them, your spirit will writhe in bodiless agony."

Not cited.

The Buffy line and the line about instruments of music are not exact, but I think they are still close enough to require a citation. ETA: There are comments on the "bones for veela children" line below. issendai notes this is a common theme; nolivingman and an anonymous poster both note the existence of G'Kar's line in Babylon 5: '"I will confess that I look forward to the day when we have cleansed the Universe of the Centauri and carved their bones into little flutes for Narn children. It is a dream I have."' I agree with them that it is a more likely source. (The source of the "instruments of music" line I used is the Strygalldwir scene in The Guns of Avalon, which is why I looked there for a source when I saw the line used in Draco Sinister.) I think that this points to the difficulty of tracing sources-- things only a few lines apart can originate in completely different places.

Spartina has suggested that Ginny arriving on dragonback is similar to Dragonflight, but I've checked and seen nothing similar in the discussion between T'ton, D'ram, Mardra, and Lessa to the discussion between Ginny, Ben, and Gareth, and I can't find any borrowed text.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 14 Through the door came a trio of young women, clad in filmy white, two carrying lanterns shining with a soft pale light, the tallest playing a little harp that echoed a strange, sweet music. As they drew nearer, Sirius recognized them as veela. Up close, their resemblance to Narcissa unnerved him, as if he faced herwas facing her, refracted through some sort of distorted mirror. Like her, they were all tall and pale and slender, with waterfalling silver-white hair and upturned blue-gray eyes. They paused, their silver robes swirling around their slender bodies, and giggled to each other. "Quel homme attirant. Que devrions-nous faire avec lui?" smirked the first. "Je pense que nous devrions le manger," purred the second. They advanced towards him en masse, smiling, and Sirius began backing away. He did not like the looks on their faces, nor the cruel, cold smiles on their red mouths, or the way the one on the left was hungrily licking her lips as she looked at him. He had absolutely no idea what they had just been saying, but was quite certain it wasn´t good. Suddenly another female voice cut into the scene, this one oddly familiar. "Shoo! Shoo! Get away from 'im! Leave 'im alone, you bunch of tarts!" Sirius turned, and stared. Standing in front of him, barefoot and wearing a white nightgown, was Fleur Delacour. Her hands were jammed firmly on her hips and she looked furious. She had stretched one hand outstretched out imperiously, and to Sirius´ surprise, the veela cowered back away from her. Then he remembered. It was no wonder they were afraid of her. She was Slytherin´s Source. The tallest veela bared her teeth, and said in a wheedling voice. "Fleur....pourquoi est-ce que tu ne nous laisses pas seuls et nous laisses avoir notre amusement?" "Parce que je le dise!" barked Fleur, imperiously tapping her foot. "Because I say so! Now go!" With a few parting hisses and some baring of teeth, the veela turned and vanished off down the corridor as if pursued by Furies. Fleur watched them go, looking a bit like a Fury herself. Her silver hair was crackling around her head like charmed tinsel, and Sirius was reminded that she was a Magid, and her anger was a powerful weapon indeed.

Tanith Lee, "Prince on a White Horse" (as printed in Dark Castle, White Horse, p. 194 according to wombat 1138) Through the door came a troup of maidens, clad in filmy white, some carrying lanterns shining with a soft pale light, others playing little harps and pipes so a peculiar sweet music filled the hall. Bram Stoker, Dracula (pp. 38-40, the Bantam classic edition I have) In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner. I thought at the time that I must be dreaming when I saw them, for, though the moonlight was behind them, they threw no shadow on the floor. They came close to me, and looked at me for some time, and then whispered together. ... The other was fair, as fair as can be, with great wavy masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires. I seemed somehow to know her face, and to know it in connection with some dreamy fear, but I could not recollect at the moment how or where. All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down; lest some day it should meet Mina's eyes and cause her pain; but it is the truth. They whispered together, and then they all three laughed-- such a silvery, musical laugh, but as hard as though the sound never could have come through the softness of human lips. It was like the intolerable, tingling sweetness of water-glasses when played on by a cunning hand. The fair girl shook her head coquettishly, and the other two urged her on. One said:-- "Go on! You are first, and we shall follow; yours is the right to begin." The other added:-- "He is young and strong; there are kisses for us all." ... and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth. But at that instant, another sensation swept through me as quick as lightning. I was conscious of the presence of the Count, and of his being as if lapped in a storm of fury. As my eyes opened involuntarily I saw his strong hand grasp the slender neck of the fair woman and with giant's power draw it back, the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing with passion. But the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even to the demons of the pit. His eyes were positively blazing. The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell-fire blazed behind them. His face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wires; the thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot metal. With a fierce sweep of his arm, he hurled the woman from him, and then motioned to the others, as though he were beating them back; it was the same imperious gesture that I had seen used to the wolves. In a voice which, though low and almost in a whisper, seemed to cut through the air and then ring round the room he said:-- "How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or you will have to deal with me." The fair girl, with a laugh of ribald coquetry, turned to answer him:-- "You yourself never loved; you never love!" ... "Yes, I too can love; you yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so? Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done."

Not cited.

The scene from Dracula is famous-- Jonathan Harker is inside Castle Dracula, and enters a dust-filled room where he encounters three beautiful women. Dracula angrily enters to drive them away.

I would like to specifically mention that, in both scenes, the three women look familiar, making the male viewpoint character uneasy. The women draw closer; they have two lines of dialogue. One licks her lips. The scene is interrupted by the arrival of an angry character who makes "imperious" gestures. The viewpoint character observes that the angry arrival seems like a fantastic creature (Dracula demonic, Fleur like a Fury). The women protest, the angry arrival orders them to go. The specific mentions of the word "imperious" and "fury" in both scenes, the fact that the scenes have the same structure, and additional shared text suggests the scene in Draco Sinister is uncredited paraphrase.

Taking from Dracula is certainly not copyright infringement. It's public domain. However, it can still be plagiarized.

ETA: I have added wombat1138's quotation from Tanith Lee's "Prince on a White Horse" to the "side by side" of this scene above-- again, there's a mix of multiple sources within one scene. The scene itself is from Dracula, but the very vivid image at the beginning is straight out of Tanith Lee's work.

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The trouble with quotes
Once again, this is by no means comprehensive. I'm not putting in a lot of effort. If I happen to skim by something and notice it, I'll post it here. Some examples of lifted quotes in Draco Dormiens were posted by an anonymous poster on Fandom Wank in the past. I am not using any of those quotes below.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 9 "Weasley," said Draco, looking as if ever word was being dragged out of him with a fishhook, "I, uh, I know that I haven't always been the easiest guy to get along with. And I know that in an ideal world, you would never have chosen me for a friend, or me you, for that matter. But given what you've done for me, and everything we've been through lately, I just wanted to say that I've come to regard you as someone...as someone...someone that I've met."

Red Dwarf, season 5: "Holoship" RIMMER: Look, I'm not much good at big speeches, and I know I haven't always been an easy guy to get on with. And I know that, given the choice, I probably wouldn't have chosen you as friends. But, I just want to say ... that over the years, ... I have come to regard you ... as ... people ... I met. I'd just better go, OK?

Current citation says: '" I've come to regard you as someone...as someone...someone that I've met." -- Red Dwarf.'

The citation is incomplete.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 11 "Draco....is there someone you love?" "Someone I love?" The question jarred him slightly, and he was beginning to feel silly sitting there with her hand under his shirt, although having her gaze up at him with huge, admiring eyes was not entirely terrible. "Well, I suppose so." "Who?" "Me," he said firmly. "I mean someone you would die to protect. Someone you couldn't live without." "Other than me?"

Black Adder Goes Forth, Episode 5: "General Hospital" Mary: Tell me, Edmund: Do you have someone special in your life? Edmund: Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Mary: Who? Edmund: Me. Mary: No, I mean someone you love, cherish and want to keep safe from all the horror and the hurt. Edmund: Erm... Still me, really.

Not cited.

While only two lines match exactly in this scene ("Who?" and "Me."), I think the derivation is obvious. It's slightly rephrased, but even the rhythm of the scene is unchanged.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 11 "So was I, and you always tell me all my plans are crap." "All your plans are crap. You don´t think she might be a blessing in disguise?" "Well, if she is, it´s a very good disguise."

Black Adder III, Episode 6: "Duel and Duality" George: Perhaps this disgusting degraded creature is some sort of blessing in disguise. Edmund: Well if he is, it's a very good disguise.

Not cited.

Only two lines together, but, again, obviously the Black Adder episode is the source, and it deserves a citation.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 9 Draco grinned. "It's all part of the protocol. But all right. If you like." He stood up straight, his shoulders back, and looked directly at Ron. "You saved my life," he said. "The Malfoy Family Code of Conduct rule #613 clearly states that now, I owe you a debt in blood. That means you get one try at me with that knife." Ron now looked as if he had walked in on Professor McGonagall taking a bath with Snape. "Oh yeah? Well the Weasley Family Code of Conduct rule #1 just as clearly states 'No chance, you psycho loon.'" ... "Is there really a Malfoy Family Code of Conduct Rule #613 that says I get one try at you with that knife, or was that just for my benefit?" Draco looked back at him. And grinned. "Come to think of it," he said, "Rule #613 actually states that members of the Malfoy family who have artificial limbs should not attempt sexual intercourse in the moat. Whoops."

Red Dwarf, season 4: "White Hole" KRYTEN: Well, Space Corps Directive 195 clearly states that in an emergency power situation, a hologrammatic crewmember must lay down his life in order that the living crewmembers might survive. RIMMER: Yes, but Rimmer Directive 271 states just as clearly, "No chance you metal bastard." Red Dwarf, season 6: "Legion" RIMMER: May I remind you all of Space Core Directive 34124? KRYTEN: 34124. "No officer with false teeth should attempt oral sex in zero gravity."

Not cited.

The Space Corps Directives are a long-running joke in Red Dwarf and are probably at their funniest in "Quarantine." The Malfoy Family Code of Conduct borrows some of the language from Red Dwarf. It should be cited.

Draco Sinister, chapter 13 "No!" She placed the palms of her hands flat against his chest, and stared at him, trying desperately to communicate some of the intensity of what she was feeling. "That´s not true! You´re not responsible for other people´s actions. Just being what you are - even if you are the Heir of Slytherin - that doesn´t make you evil." "It does in my eyes," said Draco, his voice very bitter. "It does in Harry´s eyes, and Hermione´s eyes. It does in the eyes of everyone with eyes. That´s exactly what it makes me."

Red Dwarf, season 5: "Holoship" LISTER: That doesn't make you a failure. RIMMER: It does in my parents' eyes. It does in my brother's eyes. It does in the eyes of everyone with eyes. That's exactly what it makes me.

The current citation says: '3)"It does in the eyes of everyone with eyes." -- Red Dwarf.'

The citation is incomplete.

Draco Sinister, chapter 13 Harry idly watched Draco as he flipped over the sword in his hand, the light reflecting off its grooved surface. "Are you trying to cheer me up?" "Not at all. Wouldn´t dream of it." "Good. Because it really depresses me when you do that."

Babylon 5, listed in the IMDb quotes Captain John Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up? Susan Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it. Captain John Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up.

Not cited.

I can't speak to any of the surrounding lines; there are no online searchable scripts for Babylon 5, and I haven't watched the episodes since they originally aired on television.

Of course, that doesn't mean I don't know the light bulb joke...

Draco Sinister, chapter 13 Draco leaned his head back against the chair. The firelight threw the hollows under his eyes into relief, the angle of his cheekbones, painting his face with its own colors of gold and darker gold. Making him almost hurtfully beautiful to look at. Certainly, something inside her hurt. "Sure. Jokes. For instance, how many Malfoys does it take to change a lightbulb?" She stared at him as he held up a finger. "Just one. But in the good old days, a hundred servants would change a thousand lightbulbs at our slightest whim." He grinned mirthlessly, sliding down in the chair. "One of my father´s, that one. Maybe you have to be a Malfoy to think it´s funny."

Babylon 5, as discussed here "I heard a joke today. I probably shouldn't repeat it, but who are you going to tell? How many Centauri does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one, but in the great old days of Republic hundreds of servants would change a thousand light bulbs at our slightest whim!"

Not cited.

Draco Sinister, chapter 14 Gareth glanced at Ben, his eyes wide and inquiring. Ben looked exasperated. "I was trying to tell you, Gareth. The prophecy, do you understand now? I have to go." "The prophecy," said Gareth, sounding disgusted. "It´s just a prophecy, just a bunch of words. It´s not like it came from on high." "Actually, it did," Ben pointed out gently. "That´s what a prophecy is."

Angel, season 1: "To Shanshu In L.A." Wesley: "Death. (He gets up and walks into the outer office to sit down across from Cordelia) Every source says it's death." Cordy: "Well, it's just a prophecy. It's not like it came from on high." Wesley: "That's what a prophecy is, Cordelia."

Not cited.

Draco Sinister, chapter 14 Come on, Malfoy. Harry again. It´s better to live one hour as a tiger than a whole lifetime as a worm. That´s an old Gryffindor saying. Oh yeah? Well there´s an old Malfoy saying, too. It goes "Who ever heard of a wormskin rug"?"

Red Dwarf, season 6: "Psirens" CAT: There's an old Cat proverb: 'It's better to live one hour as a tiger, than a whole lifetime as a worm.' RIMMER: There's an old human saying: 'Whoever heard of a wormskin rug?'

Not cited.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 13 "Cleansed?" echoed Lupin, briefly thrown off. "Your souls must be cleansed," said Raven severely. "Sure they must," said Sirius. "I´ve been thinking lately that I need a good soul-cleansing. I've been having impure thoughts like you wouldn't believe. Really lurid stuff. There was this one dream I had, where I was dancing with a bunch of house-elves in luminous tights -" "Your souls must be cleansed of humanity," corrected Raven, staring at Sirius as if he´d come from another planet. Lupin stepped in front of him. "Vampire humor," he said hastily. "He had some bad blood in the Netherlands. He´s been a little off since then." She raised her eyebrows high. "And are you willing to accept the Snake Lord as your master and acknowledge the superiority of pure wizarding blood?" Lupin clamped a hand firmly on Sirius´ wrist. "We are," he announced. Without saying anything, she leaned back against the open door, creating enough space of them to pass, although not quite enough space for them to pass without brushing against her. Once they were inside, she shut the door behind them and picked up a small lantern which glowed with an intense blue light. "Follow me," she said, and started off down the hall. "What is she?" Sirius whispered to Lupin as they followed the rather mesmerizing sway of Raven´s hips down the hallway. "A veela? No...she´s too dark." "I´d guess she´s a banshee," Lupin whispered back. "And have I mentioned that when there are pretty girls around, you suck at undercover? Now shut up."

Buffy the Vampire Slayers, season 2: "Innocence" Judge: This one... cannot be burnt. He is clean. (removes his hand) Spike: Clean? You mean, he's... Judge: There's no humanity in him. (turns and goes) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 3: "Anne" Buffy: You know, I just... I woke up, and I looked in the mirror, and I thought, hey, what's with all the sin? I need to change. I'm... I'm dirty. I'm, I'm bad with the... sex and the envy and that, that loud music us kids listen to nowadays. W... (sees that the guy isn't buying it) Oh, I just suck at undercover. Where's Ken?

This is more iffy, I suppose, but the Judge's touch burns out humanity in "Innocence." In "Anne," while Buffy is breaking in, Lily is undergoing a procedure described by Ken as "cleansing."

I think Sirius' description of his lurid thoughts (as a reason why he would need cleansing) is substantially similar to Buffy's attempts to break into the Family Home in "Anne." The fact that "suck at undercover" appears in both scenes clinches it for me.

Draco Sinister, Chapter 8 "Come anywhere near me, and I'll introduce you to the pointy end of Clarence." "Clarence?" Wormtail said, blinking. "You named your sword?" Harry said. "So?" said Draco. "You named it Clarence?"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2: "Becoming, Part I" Kendra: In case de curse does not succeed, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it Mr. Pointy. Buffy: You named your stake? Kendra: (a bit embarrassed) Yes. Buffy: (smiles) Remind me to get you a stuffed animal. ... Angelus: Maybe I'll just go home, destroy the world. Buffy: Well, I think Mr. Pointy'll have something to say about that. Come on. Let's finish this. You and me.

Not cited.

That Draco has given his sword a ridiculous name like "Clarence" appears here, then apparently never shows up again. I think the source is obviously this scene in Buffy, and the fact that the word "pointy" appears in Draco's speech only serves as confirmation. ETA: Note that others below disagree.

To close this out, I've not read Draco Veritas, but I did click through and look at the footnotes.

Cassandra Claire’s Draco Veritas (Off of someone's "favorite quotes" page) “Alas, no,” said Ron, looking unrepentant. “I’m still waiting for Miss Right to come along and gather me up in her arms.” “They’ll have to get her arms out of the strait jacket first,” said Harry.

Black Adder Goes Forth, Episode 5: "General Hospital" Baldrick: I'm not available, sir. I'm waiting for Miss Right to come along and gather me up in her arms. Edmund: Yes, I wouldn't be too hopeful; we'd have to get her arms out of a straitjacket first. Now get packing!

Not cited.

Cassandra Claire’s Draco Veritas (Off of someone's "favorite quotes" page) Fortunately I cleverly used my spine to break our fall.

Darkwing Duck, from the IMDb quotes page Darkwing Duck: Clever of me to use my spine to break my fall like that.

This is currently cited to Black Adder, but I can't find a similar quotation in Black Adder.

Cassandra Claire’s Draco Veritas (Off of someone's "favorite quotes" page) Come on, Harry, get up. No, don’t fall back down again. Yes, I know, gravity is a harsh mistress. But we have to learn to work with her. Now come along… </b>

The Tick, from the IMDb quotes page The Tick: Gravity is a harsh mistress.

Not cited.

When I say quotations are overused, this is what I mean. It generally isn't a single line, it's multiple lines, or an entire scene essentially copied from a television show. I see people claim that "it's all cited now" and "there aren't that many quotes." No, it's not all cited; even things that are cited tend to have only one of the multiple lines cited, and the quotations add up. In my mind, this is also plagiarism-- uncredited borrowing from television writers. When people praise Cassandra Claire's witty and clever dialogue... well, it should be, shouldn't it? She's drawn some of the wittiest lines out of the wittiest shows made.

I know that ideas cannot be copyrighted. You can give a weapon a stupid name for comic effect (for example, Wuntvor has a magic sword named "Cuthbert" in Craig Shaw Gardner's Ebenezum novels), but there's no particular reason that should appear in the same sort of scene as it did in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There's no reason that a scene where a picture is drawn on the wall with magic pencils should contain some of the same language as a similar scene in The Guns of Avalon. There's no reason that the Slytherin subplot should contain the same language as Tanith Lee's "A Lynx With Lions." It's plagiarism-- either lifting of direct text or uncredited paraphrase.

None of these passages are as long as the original "land of the dead" passage I discovered in 2001, and I'm well aware of that. It bothers me that I can find them at all.

---

Detecting plagiarism
I have no idea how much plagiarism is present in the Draco Trilogy, but I think there's a lot of it. The style changes constantly-- and, while it is true that authors can write humorous scenes and serious scenes, the fundamental elements of style don't change enormously from book to book. Further, Cassandra Claire said at the time that she thought it was acceptable practice in fanfiction to splice together television quotes, other novels, and her own writing-- and that she'd done so.

Skimming through Draco Sinister, it's easy for me to see "boundaries"-- places where the writing style changes. There are lines that simply do not make sense where they occur-- "No one would ever write that from scratch about Snape." There are numerous passages about which I think, "Wait. That doesn't fit. I've read it somewhere else; I know I have."

All of that says to me, "These passages are likely to be plagiarized."

That's very different from being able to say, "I have read this before. I know who wrote it, which book it's in, and which scene it's in." That difference, for me, is having read a novel fifteen times versus about three or four. I've read the Amber novels, and that was enough for me to identify Grayswandir when the word appeared in Draco Sinister. But the specific text in chapter 14? I skipped over it entirely until I saw someone pointing it out as being similar to the scene in Corwin's cell in The Guns of Avalon. Even in the plagiarism I originally identified, I recognized two lines from a scene I'd found particularly vivid in a book that I'd read fifteen times. The plagiarism of The Hidden Land in chapter 9, I missed entirely.

Do I recognize something from television? Do I recognize it from a book? Even if I can narrow that down, I've seen thousands of episodes of television shows, and I've read thousands of fantasy and romance novels. Knowing that I recognize something does nothing to help me track it down.

Let's say (a generous assumption) that I think I recognize the author. Imagine that I think the source is a novel written by Christopher Stasheff. I've read seventeen books by Christopher Stasheff, and I'm not very fond of them. They aren't searchable on Amazon.com, so I will need to actually search through books by hand. If I can't find the passage in the book I think it's most likely to be from-- am I just missing the passage? Do I have the author right, but the wrong series or book? Do I have the author wrong? Is this passage not plagiarized?

Now, imagine I think I recognize something as being by an author I actually like. Imagine I think it's from "something" written by Andre Norton or Terry Pratchett. I've read fifty-two books by Andre Norton and forty-five by Terry Pratchett. Even if the books are in print and searchable on Amazon.com, searching through them is an impossible task.

And, of course, there's the overriding question: how much of my time and effort is worth investing in this?

When I originally read Draco Sinister, several passages seemed familiar to me. I have traced very few of those familiar passages. There's too great a difference between "Hey, I've read that somewhere" and "I know exactly which book that's from."

What are the odds that I've discovered the only plagiarism? Quite low.

---

Other accusations
I am not the only one to comment on plagiarized passages in the Draco Trilogy. (Posts below are available by directly following the link unless otherwise noted.)

>Ummmmm, actually, I would not consider Cassie's work
>plagarism, considering that she states in every
>chapter where she gets her information from.

No. She doesn't. She says she's taken some quotes from some things. She lists them, but she doesn't say what comes from where, nor does she mention that the ENTIRE THING is from other places. -- Libby


Yes. Cassie is KNOWN for her stolen smart-ass quotes. It only shows her lack of originality. -- Jenna


I've never taken part in any debates or arguments or taken side with anyone, I don't know Pamela Dean and I've never met any of CC's friends or enemies. I'm just a HP fan who was surfing one day and stumbled upon the Draco Trilogy. I read it. I enjoyed it. It got me through my exams.

Then I read it again, while I was reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I probably would have caught on earlier if I had a television.

For the first time I scrolled ot the top of the page and found the pitiful disclaimers section, and I was shocked and furious. -- Jadian Roy


This particular author has not borrowed themes, conceits, or
occasional lines of dialogue. She has lifted several pages from at
least two books I can identify (and to judge by the familiar feeling
of some of the passages, I think those weren't her only thefts), cut a
few sentences, changed the names, and put them in her own work
wholesale.

I'm less and less convinced there's anything in there that *is* her
own work. -- Melymbrosia_Voyage (this is posted on the Glass_Onion Yahoo! Group, which is age-restricted and therefore requires moderator approval to join.)



I'd find this a lot more convincing if she'd offered citations for other authors
appropriated since then, without being specifically caught. Where's the cite
for Elizabeth Marie Pope? -- Melymbrosia_Voyage (also on the Glass_Onion group; hesychasm on LJ was kind enough to post links to some of the quotations she (and M_V) identified due to this discussion and an old post in her blog related to this discussion.)


On the Harry Potter forum the administration said that Cassandra copied
Redwall and some other stuff. Does anybody know what else? -- Elizabeth (posted on the fanfiction-writers Yahoo! group; open membership)

You know how everyone talks about plagiarism, regarding the great miss CC. Well, I'll admit, I'm positively the WORST person for being able to identify quotes from TV shows and movies. I don't watch Buffy. I don't watch much TV at all, and I don't usually have much time for movies. I figured I wouldn't notice all that much. That is, until she used some blatant quotes from one of my all-time favourite and most-quotable movies, and didn't bother to cite them. They were slightly paraphrased, but it was still obvious, especially considering that these are actual phrases that I quote often in RL. The movie is "Real Genius", starring Val Kilmer. Came out in the '80s. Great flick, very funny, extremely quotable. - PhoenixSong126 (PhoenixSong126 includes three examples in the post)

Books or Authors I have seen referenced by others:
Sorcery and Cecilia, Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (Epicyclical Elaborations in Sorcery comes from this novel)
Redwall, Brian Jacques
Fire and Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones (the term "Magid" also comes from Diana Wynne Jones)
Elizabeth Marie Pope
Douglas Adams
Roger Zelazny
Tanith Lee
Neil Gaiman
Christopher Stasheff
Terry Pratchett

Television or movies I have seen referenced by others:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Black Adder
Red Dwarf
Babylon 5
Newsradio
Friends
Frasier
Real Genius

I have not seen specific passages cited or cannot verify the quotations myself, however, and thus they are not included. (Personally, I believe I recognize some passages as originating in romance novels.) If anyone reading this has additional passages to contribute, I will happily verify them (if I can) and then add them to this account.


Note: I am grateful to those who produced the television transcripts I used to identify the quotations above. I am not directly linking or naming them because I am grateful.

Previous post (Part IX through Part XI)
Next post (Part XIII through Epilogue)

ETA: Additional examples, cited in the comments below or in comments of previous posts:
bunny:

• Fight Club and Veronica Mars
  
• Ella Enchanted
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Terry Pratchett, and Veronica Mars
  
• Veronica Mars

hesychasm: Buffy quotations in Draco Dormiens 11
xturtle: Gone With the Wind in "Mortal Instruments" (Ron/Ginny) (xturtle's original comment)
wombat1138:

• Tanith Lee's "Magritte's Secret Agent"
  
• Tanith Lee's "Prince on a White Horse"
  
• Tanith Lee's Lycanthia
  
• Tanith Lee's "A Lynx With Lions"

Anonymous: Babylon 5
Anonymous: Elizabeth Peters' Trojan Gold
brown_betty: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
northerncross: Neil Gaiman
caitiedidit: Dawson's Creek
reddwarfette: Buffy, Red Dwarf, Black Adder, Babylon 5, etc.
aitvaras: Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising
anonymous: My So-Called Life
mousie Miss Molotov: Black Adder (this quote is credited)
narcissam: Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man (this quote is miscredited)
anonymous: Black Adder (this quote is credited)
anonymous: Malcolm in the Middle (this quote is credited)
slackerbitch's anonymous friend:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Black Adder
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  
• Black Adder
  
• Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Blake's 7, Red Dwarf, Black Adder

I find some of these examples more convincing than others.

For what it's worth, since I have Dreams of Dark and Light (and it also contains Lee's story, "Magritte's Secret Agent"), I made a point of looking that line up:

Draco Dormiens, chapter 6 He was sitting very still; she could see the line of his profile, looking very serious and familiar in the light from the wand. "I´ll be sorry when you start shaving," she said dreamily (she was quite lightheaded now), "I love that translucent quality your skin has, I always have. And when you rip that first razor through your stubble, that´ll go with it forever."

Tanith Lee, "Magritte's Secret Agent" (p. 264 in Dreams of Dark and Light) The skin of his face had the sort of marvellous pale texture most men shave off when they rip the first razor blade through their stubble and the second upper dermis goes with it forever.

Not cited.