1 February 2016 Susannah

An Unpublished Manuscript Surfaces

Beatrix_Potter,_Benjamin_Bunny,_Mrs_Rabbits_shop image

Did you know that a Beatrix Potter book is sold somewhere in the world every 15 seconds?

Beatrix Potter by Charles King, circa 1913Fascinating news has emerged about the finding of an unpublished Beatrix Potter manuscript. The new book is the Tale of Kitty-in-Boots and it will be published, with illustrations by Quentin Blake, for the first time in September, a full century after it was written, with illustrations by Quentin Blake.

Three handwritten manuscripts in school exercise books were found amongst letters in the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum and included a rough colour sketch of Kitty-in-Boots, a dummy book with portions of the typeset text laid out, and a pencil drawing of the arch-villain, Mr Tod.

2016 is 150 years since Beatrix Potter’s birth, so a new book, though an unfinished one, is a lovely way to mark that anniversary.

I do wish more previously unpublished manuscripts would come to light – a new Jane Austen, an undiscovered Shakespeare play – both would be beyond exciting! Which author would love to see a new manuscript from? Tell me by leaving a comment.

Selected links for relevant websites, books, movies, videos, and more. Some of these links may lead to protected content on this website, learn more about that here.

I provide these links for convenience only and do not endorse or assume liability for the content or quality of these third-party sites. I only recommend books I have read and know. Some of these links may be affiliate links. If you buy a product by clicking here, I may receive a small commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it does help cover the cost of producing my free newsletter.

Leave a comment.

Featured image credit- “Beatrix Potter, Benjamin Bunny, Mrs Rabbits shop” by Beatrix Potter – Project Gutenberg ebook of The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, image taken from this HTML version, original text with this illustration is “Old Mrs. Rabbit was a widow; she earned her living by knitting rabbit-wool mittens and muffatees (I once bought a pair at a bazaar). She also sold herbs, and rosemary tea, and rabbit-tobacco (which is what we call lavender).”. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beatrix_Potter,_Benjamin_Bunny,_Mrs_Rabbits_shop.jpg
Body image credit- Beatrix Potter by Charles King, circa 1913 from National Portrait Gallery: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36914961

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *