Invasion of Privacy

Invasion of Privacy is based on the lawsuit brought against Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling) by her neighbor, Zelma Cason.  Cason contended that Rawlings’ description of ‘her’ character in Rawlings’ book Cross Creek made her out to be a ‘hussy’ and sued the author for invasion of privacy (the courts of the time found libel to be too ambiguous).  It was a cause of action that had never been argued in a Florida court.  “That was a time when a woman lawyer was a novelty in the South, and man’s moonshine was nobody’s business, and an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit was something of a brand-new issue, which eventually became a popular reason for going to court.”  Jack Lyons, Theatre & Film Critic