Firm Dropping Plans for Book on Bingham Publishing Family

Macmillan Publishing Co. will announce today that it is canceling publication of “The Binghams of Louisville,” the biography of the Kentucky newspaper dynasty that contains startling theories about the mysterious death of heiress Mary Flagler Bingham that provided the family with its fortune.

Macmillan made its decision after the family, alarmed by the book’s conclusions, copyrighted materials it had given to a public archives and then sent the publisher eight pounds of documents challenging the book’s accuracy.

The book, according to author David Chandler, suggests that Judge Robert Worth Bingham caused the death of his wife in 1917 by having her drugged with morphine and perhaps even by infecting her with syphilis. With the money he inherited, Bingham bought the Louisville Courier-Journal newspapers and founded the Bingham dynasty. Chandler admits his conclusions are only hypotheses.

In a statement to be issued today, Macmillan says it spent three months reviewing the “extensive documentation challenging many of the author’s underlying factual premises” and engaging, according to sources, in a difficult internal debate.

“As a result of this review, in which the author took part, it became clear that Macmillan and Mr. Chandler had serious substantive disagreements as to his interpretations and presentations of significant portions of the available source material” used for the book.

As part of his challenge to the book, Bingham’s son, Barry Bingham Sr., mounted what many consider a novel copyright argument, including asserting copyright over written answers supplied to Chandler in response to the author’s written questions. Copyright gives the owner of documents certain controls over how they are used.

Macmillan, however, says in its statement that “this cancellation is not based upon legal considerations and is, in fact, contrary to Macmillan’s own commercial interests.”

The copyright challenge, Macmillan felt, was easily remedied.

Chandler has the right to try to sell his book to another publisher and was allowed to keep his advance. Three publishers “have already expressed some interest,” he said in an interview Monday.

Barry Bingham Sr. was unavailable for comment.