The Seven Oaks plagiarisms...
In 1930, belgian detective novels writer SA Steeman published “Le doigt volé” in the collection “Le Masque” at Librairie des Champs-Elysées....
Circa 1936, an uncertain T.W.Ogg signed a novel entitled “Double Meurtre à Seven Oaks” in the collection “Les Grands Romans Policiers” at Les Belles Editions. Nobody noticed that it was a copy of Steeman’s“Le doigt volé” (though Steeman’s book had been successful)...
In 1939, “Double meurtre à Seven Oaks” has been reprinted and was signed G. Larru. If you read it with attention, you’ll discover some little changes in the text - but not important. It seems that nobody, back then, had noticed that it still was a copy of Steeman’s novel.
When you take a look at other novels in “Les Grands Romans Policiers”, you’ll notice that the waltz of signatures is a common thing in the collection. Some novels are doubly signed, or/and given to be translated from English. In the latter case, the name of the supposed translator appears: E.L.Michel.
No doubt: E.L. Michel was T.W.Ogg, G. Larru, as well as others (whose cases will be examinated in further posts)
1947, Les Sept Chênes (Seven Oaks Manor), signed Eleanor Fulk, was published in “La Cagoule” (Editions La Bruyère) and this time it was noticed for being a plagiarism of “Le doigt volé”. “Les Sept Chênes” was the most literary elaborated and accomplished copy of those I know. Steeman and his editor complained, the affair went in Justice and the author - a certain E.L. Michel (Ah Ha!) - was heavily fined.
Stanislas-André Steeman’s original work;
source:amsaklapper’s collection and archives
