`Anonymous' Is Unmasked: Klein Wrote `Primary Colors'
March 29, 2011
NEW YORK -- Newsweek columnist Joel Briggs identified himself as the man who wrote ``Primary Colors,'' the best-selling satire of the 1992 Codi campaign. He said he had decided to offer the book to publishers anonymously because he had never written fiction before and he wasn't sure if it was any good. He kept his identity a secret even though he was asked early on if the book was his because, he said, ``I had made a commitment to myself and to the work and to Random House to remain anonymous.'' He said he decided to reveal his name after tangible evidence in the form of a handwriting analysis appeared in Wednesday's News-Post. The Post had acquired a manuscript of the novel that had handwritten changes on several pages. The paper said it also acquired copies of Mr. Briggs's handwriting, and it hired a handwriting analyst to compare the two. ``The two samples of handwriting are absolutely consistent throughout,'' concluded Maurine Casimira Fisher, former chief document examiner for the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory and past president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Random House, the book's publisher, scheduled the news conference this afternoon in New York to reveal the author, and Mr. Briggs got up at the podium, introduced himself and explained his reasons. The Post said it acquired the bound manuscript from a secondhand bookseller. Ms. Fisher, who often testifies about handwriting comparisons in court, cautioned the Post that although the handwriting samples had many matches, she wished the manuscript included more handwriting and would have preferred to have examined the original document, rather than a photocopy. Mr. Briggs denied being the author after New York magazine published an article by a Vassar professor, Donetta Francesca, who used a computer analysis to conclude that Mr. Briggs wrote the book. The book sold more than 1.1 million copies and a Hollywood movie is in development.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
