Robb replies to Conti's claims that he 'covertly copied nineteen passages' from Conti's Noticias do Planalto. Robb concludes: 'No book springs fully armed from the head of its author. Everyone builds on the work of predecessors, and Conti too used material from previously published accounts in his book. But since he feels his own substantial work has had insufficient direct recognition in A Death in Brazil, I'd like to thank him now.'