A continuation novel is a

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

novel with continuity in the style of an established series, produced by a new author after the original author's death. Continuation novels may be official, produced with the permission of the late author's

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed w ...

s, or unofficial where the original author's works are now out of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

Official continuations

Where official continuations are produced, the novel will normally try to keep closely to the style of the original author in order to preserve the integrity and value of the literary franchise and the author may be legally required to do so. Examples of official continuations include '' Porto Bello Gold'', the multiple authors that have continued Ian Fleming's

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

series, including

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...

, William Boyd,

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

and others; ''

Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...

'' by

Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fin ...

, '' The House of Silk'' by

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and '' ...

and the 2014

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

continuation novel ''

The Monogram Murders ''The Monogram Murders'' is a mystery novel by British writer Sophie Hannah, based on characters created by Agatha Christie. It is the first in her series of Hercule Poirot novels, after being authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie to wr ...

'' by

Sophie Hannah Sophie Hannah (born 1971) is a British poet and novelist. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 a junior research fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She lives with h ...

, produced with the permission of the Agatha Christie estate. The estate also authorised ''Marple: Twelve New Stories'', continuing

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...

in 2022. In 1998,

Jill Paton Walsh Gillian Honorine Mary Herbert, Baroness Hemingford, (née Bliss; 29 April 1937 – 18 October 2020), known professionally as Jill Paton Walsh, was an English novelist and children's writer. She may be known best for her Booker Prize-nominated n ...

completed the 1936 work ''

Thrones, Dominations ''Thrones, Dominations'' is a Lord Peter Wimsey– Harriet Vane murder mystery novel that Dorothy L. Sayers began writing but abandoned, and which remained at her death as fragments and notes. It was completed by Jill Paton Walsh and publishe ...

'' authorised by the estate of

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

to continue the

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...

series. '' And Another Thing... (novel)'' continues '' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy''.

Andrew Neiderman Andrew Neiderman (born October 26, 1940) is a best-selling American novelist. In 1987, he became the ghost writer for V. C. Andrews following her death in 1986. He formerly taught English at Fallsburg Jr./Sr. High School, in upstate New York. ...

continued the novels of V. C. Andrews. Some versatile authors have contributed to more than one continuation series, for instance Sebastian Faulks who in addition to James Bond has written the first ever official new

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Berti ...

continuation story, ''Jeeves and the Wedding Bells'', published in 2013.Bertie Wooster forced me to cheer up.
Sarah Rainey, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 3 November 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2014. Several authors have published continuation novels of

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...

's character

Solar Pons Solar Pons is a fictional detective created by August Derleth as a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Robert Bloch wrote of the series, "During a span of a century there have been literally hundreds of Sherlockian imitations ...

. If not done well, the continuation novel poses risks to the reputation of the dead author but writing one is also a risk for the new author as they are obliged to suppress their own style in favour of the style of an often better-known author and one whose fans may take convincing to accept the legitimacy of the new work. Faulks said of his Wodehouse continuation: "People said it was brave – or stupid. Either way, it was a ridiculous undertaking. PG Wodehouse is, by common consent, one of the great prose stylists of the 20th century. I didn't want to make a mess of it". If the continuation is a success however, it may lead to substantial sales and, just as importantly, revive interest in and sales of the works of the dead author. For this reason publishers will sometimes commission a continuation novel if they feel that interest in the original author is beginning to wane.

Unofficial continuations

Where the original works are out of copyright, however, the new author(s) are free to interpret the franchise in any way they wish subject to

copyright protection for fictional characters Copyright protection is available to the creators of a range of works including literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works. Recognition of fictional characters as works eligible for copyright protection has come about with the understanding th ...

. There are a large number of Sherlock Holmes continuations for instance which vary in quality and authenticity. Such unofficial continuations, which may overlap with fan fiction and pastiche, may introduce completely new characters, change time periods, add or remove plot elements and make as many changes to the original formula as the author feels are useful. To mark the 110th anniversary of the publication of ''

The Tale of Peter Rabbit ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into, and is chased around, the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns ...

'', Frederick Warne & Co. commissioned British actress Emma Thompson to write ''The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit'', in which Peter ends up in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

after accidentally hitching a ride on Mr. and Mrs. McGregor's wagon. The book was released on September 18, 2012. Thompson later wrote more Peter Rabbit books. Her next tale, ''The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit'', was released in 2013, followed by ''The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 2014.

References

{{Reflist Publishing Literary terminology Continuity (fiction) *

Official continuations

Unofficial continuations

See also

References