Great escapes

Books, like people, have a life and destiny of their own, says Vikramdeep Johal

Franz Kafka’s wish that his unfinished novel The Trial and other works be burnt unread after his death was fortunately not fulfilled by his friend Max Brod.

John Kennedy Toole, the author of A Confederacy of Dunces, committed suicide because he failed to find any publisher for his novel. It appeared after his death, thanks to his mother’s initiative.

Writing a book is one thing; writing that book’s destiny is quite another. No matter how hard they try, authors cannot always prevent their creations from acquiring lives of their own.

Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BC) devoted the last decade of his life to writing his epic poem Aeneid, which celebrated the birth of the Roman empire and the achievements of its first emperor, Augustus. It was still incomplete when he undertook a journey to the East in his last year. Before his departure, he made his friend Varius Rufus promise him to burn the unfinished work if he failed to return. Virgil died during the trip, but Augustus overruled the poet’s last wish. He ordered Varius and Plotius Tucca to edit the poem, after which it was published, to great acclaim. Ironically, none of the works of Varius, who was a talented poet himself, have survived.

Czech-born German writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924), one of the most influential figures in 20th century literature, left a letter for his friend Max Brod stating his last request. He directed him to "burn unread and to the last page" the manuscripts of his three unfinished novels The Trial, The Castle and America, besides some other works. In spite of these categorical instructions, Brod refused to commit the "incendiary act" demanded of him and got Kafka’s creations published posthumously. Had it not been for Brod’s "betrayal", we would’ve been deprived of these surreal masterpieces.

Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) threw the first version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the fire after a quarrel with his American wife Fanny, who hated the macabre work. However, he soon regretted his action, and rewrote the novella. Surprisingly, Fanny did not raise any objections this time, even though the story was virtually the same. The book appeared in 1886 and was soon hailed as a classic.

American author John Kennedy Toole (1937-69) wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early 1960s and tried unsuccessfully to get his novel published. Depressed by his failure to do so, he committed suicide. His tenacious mother Thelma, who had full faith in her son’s work, took the initiative and ultimately achieved her aim. The book not only saw the light of day in 1980 but also went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, embarrassing all the publishers who had rejected it.

London-born poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti placed the only manuscript of his anthology of poems in his wife Lizzie’s coffin because he felt his preoccupation with his poetry had led to her untimely death. "I have often been working on these poems when she was ill and suffering and I might have been attending to her — and now they shall go," he told his friends.

However, in 1869, seven years after her death, Rossetti claimed that her spirit visited him and told him to reclaim his poems. He had her remains dug up and the manuscript retrieved. The Poems was published in 1870. It sold like hot cakes and brought him royalties of over £800 — a whopping sum by Victorian standards.

HOME