] He therefore would be a legitimate "target" for any aspiring writer, and this also may bethe reason for holding onto the book and NOT publishing...he didn't want to jeopardize his own market.

Oh, interesting. I didn't know they published horrid books. Which ones - any on Isabella's list?

] Rather like Miramax buying up a certain film script so that their competitors couldn't make a movie of it, and then quietly burying it....