Florence Deeks
Florence Amelia Deeks (1864–1959) was a Canadian teacher and writer. She is best known for accusing the English writer H. G. Wells of copying her work when he wrote The Outline of History. The case went all the way to the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council, but they rejected her claim.
She was born on September 4, 1864, in Morrisburg, Canada West, and grew up in a religious family. Her mother, Melinda, believed strongly in education. Her brother George later helped the family financially. Deeks spent much of her twenties traveling in Europe and the United States to study literature and art. Around age 30 she entered Victoria College at the University of Toronto and then taught at the Presbyterian Ladies College. She joined the Women’s Art Association of Canada and was active in other women’s groups.
Deeks wanted to write a history of the world that highlighted women’s contributions. She spent four years researching and wrote The Web of the World’s Romance. She finished the manuscript in 1918 and tried to publish it with Macmillan in Canada, but they rejected it, partly because of copyright concerns about using passages from a copyrighted book.
In 1919 she learned about Wells’ The Outline of History and saw similarities to her work. She could not prove that Wells had seen her manuscript, but she and supporters argued there were strong overlaps. She worked with reviewers like Rev. William Andrew Irwin to study the similarities.
She filed a lawsuit in 1928, alleging copyright breach and seeking damages. The Ontario courts dismissed the case. She appealed, but the Ontario Court of Appeal also rejected her. She then took the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, arguing it herself because she could not afford a lawyer. In 1932 the Privy Council rejected her appeal. Lord Atkin ruled that evidence based on literary criticism is not admissible in court and that there was no proof of copying. The judges noted that the two books had similar errors because both looked at the same topics and used similar sources, not because Wells copied Deeks.
Some scholars think Deeks faced bias as a woman with few powerful friends. A 2001 book by A. B. McKillop argues Wells plagiarized but provides no definitive proof. In 2004, Denis Magnusson argued that while Deeks may have faced unfair treatment, her case was weak and would likely have the same outcome today.
Florence Deeks died on June 17, 1959, in Toronto, at about 95 years old.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 09:47 (CET).