Breakfast at Bulgari's?

British author fay weldon is no stranger to controversy. Her provocative views on everything from rape (worse things could happen to a woman) to cosmetic surgery (it enhances your sex life) to men (they're the new underclass) have generated plenty of outrage.

Nothing, though, compared to the brouhaha that erupted last week when it emerged that her latest novel, The Bulgari Connection, which was commissioned and privately printed by the Italian jeweler, will soon enjoy mainstream publication.

Critics have accused Weldon, a 1979 Booker Prize nominee for Praxis, of compromising her artistic integrity. Bulgari is mentioned frequently...