Interesting Cat. I like Eco and I may look for that collection. Thanks.
And you make a good point about Amadeus. (Almost makes me question my opinion on these issues : ) .
If you mean that if the author twists the facts too far the novel will not be believable and therefore not readable, I agree. If you mean it's improper or unethical for the author to do that, I disagree. I mean, an author could write a book about Abraham Lincoln's experiences in World War II right? Why not? Go right ahead. Of course, it's doubtful whether anybody would be interested in reading it.
Yes, I mean in certain cases it's improper or unethical, and your example is not one of those cases, but Brown's book most certainly is. I have a better example, which will probably confuse those who believe that a movie advertised as "based on a true story", is not fiction. (I think dramatizations are fiction.) Walk the Line "based on on a true story" of Johnny Cash's life. (I haven't seen it, it's not my kind of genre, even if I like Johnny Cash.) Evidently his first wife, or maybe it was her descendants, I don't quite remember who, didn't appreciate her portrayal in the film. Let's say she had a good case? Wasn't then the script's distortion of this person unethical and improper?