Reclusive author sues over supposed sequel to iconic novel

Salinger wrote The Catcher In The Rye in 1951 before effectively becoming a recluse. He last published anything in 1965, though he told the New York Times in his last interview in 1974 that he was still writing.

The 90 year old has now filed a law suit claiming that a new book infringes his copyright in the original novel and in its main character, Holden Caulfield.

The book, 60 Years Later: Coming Through The Rye, was written by John David California and is due to be published in the US in September. The book is already for sale in the UK.

The book places the fictional Caulfield in a retirement home in New York and tracks his movements as he leaves the home and goes on "a curious journey through the streets of New York", according to the publisher's description.

Salinger's law suit notes the similarities between the books: in each, Caulfield leaves an institution (prep school in the original, the retirement home in the latter) and explores New York and his own state of mind.

"The sequel is not a parody and it does not comment upon or criticize the original," says the suit. "It is a rip-off pure and simple."

"The right to create a sequel to The Catcher In The Rye or to use the character of Holden Caulfield in any other work belongs to Salinger and Salinger alone," it says. The suit claims that the new book infringes his copyright in the character of Caulfield and infringes his right to create derivative works.

The suit says that Salinger has refused permission for anyone to film his book or create any derivative works. It quotes him as saying: "there's no more to Holden Caulfield. Read the book again. It's all there. Holden Caulfield is only a frozen moment in time".

The suit assumes that JD California is a pseudonym. California told The Guardian newspaper last month that he wanted to be "very respectful" towards Salinger and his most famous creation.

"Maybe [Salinger] will get upset, but I'm hoping he will be pleased," California told the paper. "I'm not trying to lure him out of hiding – maybe he wants his privacy [but] it would be fun for me to hear what he thinks about this, and if he's pleased with the way I've portrayed Holden Caulfield and his future."

Salinger's law suit says he is "fiercely protective" of both his privacy and his intellectual property, and that he has rejected overtures from Hollywood's biggest names to make films of the book: producer Harvey Weinstein and Steven Spielberg.

"Salinger's copyright in The Catcher In The Rye is worth an enormous amount of money and his right of first publication of a sequel is likewise of great monetary value," the suit says. "His right not to publish a sequel is unquantifiable."

The protagonist of the book is referred to as 'Mr C' rather than Holden Caulfield, but in the Guardian interview California appears to consider them the same character.

"Holden Caulfield is a fully delineated character entitled to the full benefits of copyright protection accorded under law," the suit says. "[California has] infringed Salinger's exclusive copyright interest in the character of Holden Caulfield..the sequel is an unauthorized derivative work of Catcher."