Recently Discovered Beatrix Potter Book to be Published in September 2016

Posted on June 2, 2016

A recently discovered and previously unpublished Beatrix Potter book will be published on September 6, 2016. The book, 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 Children's. Potter is best known for her Peter Rabbit stories. Peter Rabbit does make an appearance in the new tale.

The manuscript was discovered Jo Hanks, publisher at Penguin Random House Children's. hanks stumbled across an out-of-print literary history about Beatrix Potter from the early 1970s. The literary history contained information about an unedited manuscript told told the tale of "a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life."

Hanks was able to track down the manuscript at the V&A archive. The materials discovered included a rough color sketch of Kitty-in-Boots, a dummy book with part of the typeset manuscript, three handwritten manuscripts and a pencil sketch of the arch-villain Mr. Tod.

Hanks says in a statement, "The tale really is the best of Beatrix Potter. It has double identities, colourful villains and a number of favourite characters from other tales (including Mr. Tod, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Ribby and Tabitha Twitchit). And, most excitingly, our treasured, mischievous Peter Rabbit makes an appearance – albeit older, slower and portlier!"

The book will be illustrated by Quentin Blake. Blake says, "It seemed almost incredible when, early in 2015, I was sent the manuscript of a story by Beatrix Potter; one which had lain unpublished for a hundred years and which, with the exception of a single drawing, she had never illustrated. I liked the story immediately – it's full of incident and mischief and character –and I was fascinated to think that I was being asked to draw pictures for it. I have a strange feeling that it might have been waiting for me."

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

The book discovery comes several years after a new Peter Rabbit book was written by Emma Thompson.