Johann Hunt
A manuscript sitting in a drawer doesn’t always stay forgotten. Some books take the long way around before meeting readers. Delayed by rejection, loss, or the author’s own doubts, these novels barely made it out alive, but each one reveals something about timing and rediscovery. Here’s a look at ten books that nearly disappeared before anyone could read them.
The Trial By Franz Kafka
Kafka’s relationship with his own writing was filled with ambivalence. Before he passed away in 1924, he asked his close friend Max Brod to destroy the manuscript. Brod ignored his request, believing in their value, and published “The Trial” in 1925, from Kafka’s unfinished works in his literary estate.
Suite Francaise By Irene Nemirovsky
While fleeing persecution in Nazi-occupied France, Nemirovsky wrote “Suite Francaise” in secret. She was captured before its completion and met her untimely death in Auschwitz in 1942. Her handwritten manuscript was later found in a suitcase and was hidden for 62 years before being published in 2004.
A Confederacy Of Dunces By John Kennedy Toole
After facing repeated rejections, Toole gave up on publishing his novel and passed away in 1969. His mother found the manuscript that same year and shared it with author Walker Percy. The novel “A Confederacy of Dunces” was released in 1980 and eventually won the Pulitzer Prize.
Go Set A Watchman By Harper Lee
Long considered an abandoned draft, this manuscript was rediscovered in 2014 inside a safe deposit box. Though written before “To Kill a Mockingbird”, it wasn’t published until 2015. Lee, still alive at the time, remained publicly silent, fueling widespread debate over consent and timing.
The Pale King By David Foster Wallace
The pages were there, but the novel wasn’t finished. Wallace passed away in 2008, leaving behind a labyrinth of notes and drafts. His editor spent years assembling the fragments into a cohesive narrative. Published posthumously in 2011, “The Pale King” explored modern life through the monotony of an office setting.
Sanditon By Jane Austen
Although Austen began writing “Sanditon” in early 1817, she stopped due to illness and died that same year. The unfinished manuscript was discovered shortly afterward among her papers. Initially, partial publication came in 1825 after the author’s death, with full versions compiled later.
The First Man By Albert Camus
After Camus met an untimely death in a car accident in 1960, a handwritten manuscript was found in his briefcase. The text, however, remained unpublished for decades. Then, with editorial help from his daughter Catherine Camus, “The First Man” was finally released to the public in 1994.
The Professor By Charlotte Bronte
Bronte’s earliest novel couldn’t find a publisher during her lifetime. Despite her later fame, “The Professor” remained unpublished until after she passed away. The manuscript, written in the 1840s, was later discovered among her papers and published by her widower, Arthur Bell Nicholls, in 1857.
Weir Of Hermiston By Robert Louis Stevenson
Stevenson left this world suddenly in 1894 while working on “Weir of Hermiston.” The unfinished manuscript was found immediately in his belongings in Samoa. It was published posthumously in 1896, showing the shift in writing style Stevenson had begun to explore late in life.
The Garden Of Eden By Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway wrote this unconventional novel over many years, experimenting with themes he kept private during his lifetime. The manuscript, written in the late 1940s and 1950s, remained unpublished until 1986. Focused on love, memory, and artistic obsession, it offers a rare glimpse into a more reflective phase of his career.