Beatrix Potter Story Published 100 Years After Written
An undiscovered story by Beatrix Potter has been found and is set to be published for the first time in September. The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots was written more than 100 years ago and was unearthed by publisher Jo Hanks after she found a reference to it in an out-of-print biography, the BBC reports.
Quentin Blake, who has worked on a number of Roald Dahl books, has illustrated the story.
The book will feature an older Peter Rabbit and is centred on a “well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life,” Potter wrote to her publisher at the time.
After Hanks, who works for Penguin Random House Childrens, made the discovery, three handwritten manuscripts were found in school notebooks in the V&A archive. They included a rough sketch of Kitty-in-Boots and another sketch of villain Mr Tod.
Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots about a cat encountering villainous fox Mr Tod: https://t.co/Ru9nBxZ5P8 pic.twitter.com/F8RdbHMQBB
— The Bookseller (@thebookseller) January 26, 2016
Hanks told The Bookseller that Blake was chosen to illustrate the work by Penguin Random House because “he understands the rebelliousness of animal characters and doesn’t patronise children, which was one of Potter’s bugbears.”
Calling all #beatrixpotter fans: 100-year-old new book publishing this Sept (with illustrations by QB) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35407846
Posted by Quentin Blake on Tuesday, 26 January 2016
The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots will be published by Frederick Warne & Co, Beatrix Potter’s original publisher and an imprint of Penguin Random House, on Sept. 1.