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Who wrote Els quaderns d'en Marc ? A stylometric inquiry into twentieth-century Catalan popular literature.

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Title: Who wrote Els quaderns d'en Marc ? A stylometric inquiry into twentieth-century Catalan popular literature.
Authors: Nilsson-Fernàndez, Pedro1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p320-332. 13p.
Subjects: Attribution of authorship, Stylometry, Modern literature, Authors, Catalans, Anonymous authors, Literature
Abstract: The anonymous erotic Catalan trilogy 'Els quaderns d'en Marc' (1984–85) remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in twentieth-century Catalan popular imagination. While many in the literary circles attribute the work to the Catalan polygraph writer Manuel de Pedrolo (1918–90), there has never been a clear confirmation from the author himself, or any significant study dedicated to exploring the subject in detail. With the use of stylometry, in particular the Stylo package for R, the main objective of this short paper is to look at the authorial fingerprint in the first three volumes of 'Els quaderns d'en Marc' (1984–85), in the first instance, and at the sequel 'Els Quaderns de la dona d'en Marc' (1985), in the second. The aim is to examine whether this methodology can validate or demystify some of the existing theories surrounding these anonymous works' authorship. The main contribution of this analysis has been to confirm—by the use of three separate approaches to stylometry as recommended by Juola—the high degree of similarity between the authorial fingerprint of Manuel de Pedrolo and that of the anonymous author of volumes I to III of this saga. As part of this authorship attribution exercise, a second finding has emerged; in the case of volume IV of this saga, 'Els quaderns de la dona d'en Marc' (1985), the writer Manuel Joan i Arinyó, who was initially a suspected candidate, has been identified as a strong potential author of this volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 192763861
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Who wrote Els quaderns d'en Marc ? A stylometric inquiry into twentieth-century Catalan popular literature.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nilsson-Fernàndez%2C+Pedro%22">Nilsson-Fernàndez, Pedro</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Digital+Scholarship+in+the+Humanities%22">Digital Scholarship in the Humanities</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p320-332. 13p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attribution+of+authorship%22">Attribution of authorship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stylometry%22">Stylometry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Modern+literature%22">Modern literature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Authors%22">Authors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Catalans%22">Catalans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anonymous+authors%22">Anonymous authors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literature%22">Literature</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The anonymous erotic Catalan trilogy 'Els quaderns d'en Marc' (1984–85) remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in twentieth-century Catalan popular imagination. While many in the literary circles attribute the work to the Catalan polygraph writer Manuel de Pedrolo (1918–90), there has never been a clear confirmation from the author himself, or any significant study dedicated to exploring the subject in detail. With the use of stylometry, in particular the Stylo package for R, the main objective of this short paper is to look at the authorial fingerprint in the first three volumes of 'Els quaderns d'en Marc' (1984–85), in the first instance, and at the sequel 'Els Quaderns de la dona d'en Marc' (1985), in the second. The aim is to examine whether this methodology can validate or demystify some of the existing theories surrounding these anonymous works' authorship. The main contribution of this analysis has been to confirm—by the use of three separate approaches to stylometry as recommended by Juola—the high degree of similarity between the authorial fingerprint of Manuel de Pedrolo and that of the anonymous author of volumes I to III of this saga. As part of this authorship attribution exercise, a second finding has emerged; in the case of volume IV of this saga, 'Els quaderns de la dona d'en Marc' (1985), the writer Manuel Joan i Arinyó, who was initially a suspected candidate, has been identified as a strong potential author of this volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Digital Scholarship in the Humanities is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1093/llc/fqaf096
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 13
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      – SubjectFull: Attribution of authorship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stylometry
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      – SubjectFull: Modern literature
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      – SubjectFull: Authors
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      – SubjectFull: Catalans
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              Text: Apr2026
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              Y: 2026
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