It is true that Cross Creek author
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was sued by one of her closest friends and, after five years of
litigation, the plaintiff won the case--and was awarded the sum of $1. The mostly
non-fiction novel set in the wilds of North Central Florida (just south of Gainesville,
where Rawlings taught at the University of Florida) featured real characters using their
real names. Marjorie decided to use the true names of her characters after lengthy talks
with her editor. One of them, Zelma Cason, was angered by her depiction in the novel,
particularly Rawlings' description of her as
"... an ageless spinster resembling an angry and
efficient canary..."
Cason
wore pants, carried a gun and her profanities
"... could be heard for a quarter of a
mile..."
The two women were
very much alike. Rawlings had met Cason on her very first day in Cross Creek, and the
two women eventually "mended their friendship." But Cason declared that Rawlings' book
drew her up as a "hussy," and she felt Rawlings had betrayed their friendship. Rawlings
was apparently "shocked" at Cason's reaction. Cason hired Kate Walton, a pioneering
female lawyer in Florida, and sued Rawlings for $100,000. Rawlings initially won the
case, but the verdict was overturned, and the author was ordered to pay Cason $1 in
damages. Despite the small amount of the award, the case cost Rawlings thousands of
dollars as well as five years of emotional distress.
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