NEW YORK-Naomi wolf and her American publisher have parted ways amid a dispute over her latest book, ” Outrages.”

Wolf and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced separately Friday that they had “mutually and amicably agreed to part ways with the company” and that Houghton would not be releasing ” Outrages.” Neither Wolff nor Houghton immediately provided additional comment outside the publisher, confirming that the rights to “Outrages” had reverted to Wolff, who may now strike a deal with a new publisher.

Houghton postponed the planned June issue of Outrages after questions arose about the book’s scholarship, which focuses on gay treatment in Victorian England. Houghton originally planned to publish “Outrages” as scheduled, but soon changed his mind, announcing that ” new questions have arisen.”

“Outrages” had already come out in the United Kingdom when Wolf was challenged in may by a BBC interviewer over whether she misinterpreted that some gay men had received the death penalty. Wolf acknowledged some mistakes, but argued that they were correctable and openly objected to the postponement. She even promoted “Outrages” on her own in the US, with participants offered the chance to buy a British edition.

Publishers rarely fact-check a book, citing time and expense. Wolf, known for such bestsellers as “the Myth of beauty” and “Delusions,” has had her scholarship challenged before. In “the Myth of beauty”, she wrote that anorexia caused the death of 150,000 women a year, a number widely regarded as overstated.

Hillel Itali, Associated Press

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