Such was the scandal the work produced that Manley was arrested, and immediately questioned by the authorities in preparation of a libel case against her. She had discredited half the arena of ruling Whig politicians, as well as moderate Tories like John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who, she said, had begun his career at court in the bed of the royal mistress, Barbara Villiers. Manley resolutely denied all correspondencies between her characters and real people, and the charges were eventually dropped: part of the difficulty of those offended was proving that she had actually told their stories, without exposing themselves to further ridicule. Manley's semi-autobiographical "Adventures of Rivella" repeated the claim that her work was entirely fictional.