A continuation novel is a sequel novel with continuity in the style of an established series, produced by a new author after the original author's death. [1]
Continuation novels may be official, produced with the permission of the late author's literary executors, or unofficial where the original author's works are now out of copyright.
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 by Arthur D. Howden Smith, the multiple authors that have continued Ian Fleming's James Bond series, including John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Anthony Horowitz and others; Young Sherlock Holmes by Andy Lane, The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz and the 2014 Hercule Poirot continuation novel The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah, produced with the permission of the Agatha Christie estate. [2] The estate also authorized Marple: Twelve New Stories, continuing Miss Marple in 2022. [3] In 1998, Jill Paton Walsh completed the 1936 work Thrones, Dominations authorised by the estate of Dorothy L. Sayers to continue the Lord Peter Wimsey series. [4] And Another Thing... (novel) continues The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy . [5] Andrew Neiderman continued the novels of V. C. Andrews. [6]
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 authorized new P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves continuation story, Jeeves and the Wedding Bells, published in 2013. [7] Several authors have published continuation novels of August Derleth's character Solar Pons.
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". [7]
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.
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. 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 , Frederick Warne & Co. commissioned British actress Emma Thompson to write The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit, in which Peter ends up in Scotland after accidentally hitching a ride on Mr. and Mrs. McGregor's wagon. The book was released on September 18, 2012. [8] Thompson later wrote more Peter Rabbit books. [9] Her next tale, The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit, was released in 2013, followed by The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit in 2014.
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard.
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it.
The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer.
Jeeves 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 Bertie Wooster. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, a span of 60 years.
The canon of a work of fiction is "the body of works taking place in a particular fictional world that are widely considered to be official or authoritative; [especially] those created by the original author or developer of the world". Canon is contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction and other derivative works.
Sebastian Charles Faulks 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 published novels with a contemporary setting, most recently A Week in December (2009) and Paris Echo, (2018) and a James Bond continuation novel, Devil May Care (2008), as well as a continuation of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves series, Jeeves and the Wedding Bells (2013). He was a team captain on BBC Radio 4 literary quiz The Write Stuff.
Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels and short stories. He serves as Lord Peter Wimsey's valet, and served as Wimsey's batman during the First World War.
A spiritual successor is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but does not explicitly continue the product line or media franchise of its predecessor, and is thus only a successor "in spirit". Spiritual successors often have similar themes and styles to their source material, but are generally a distinct intellectual property.
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States under the title The Cat-nappers on 14 April 1975 by Simon & Schuster, New York. It was the last novel to feature some of Wodehouse's best known characters, Bertie Wooster and his resourceful valet Jeeves, and the last novel fully completed by Wodehouse before his death.
Peter H. Cannon is an H. P. Lovecraft scholar and an author of Cthulhu Mythos fiction. Cannon works as an editor for Publishers Weekly, specializing in thrillers and mystery. He lives in New York City and is married with three children.
A Catalogue of Crime is a critique of crime fiction by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, first published in 1971. The book was awarded a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1972. A revised and enlarged edition was published in 1989. Barzun and Taylor both graduated in the class of 1924 from Harrisburg Technical High School.
Sherlock Holmes is the overall title given to the BBC Radio 4 radio dramatisations of the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, with Bert Coules as head writer, and featuring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr Watson. Together, the two actors completed radio adaptations of every story in the canon of Sherlock Holmes between 1989 and 1998.
The gentleman detective, less commonly lady detective, is a type of fictional character. He has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in the United Kingdom in the Golden Age. The heroes of these adventures are typically both gentlemen by conduct and often also members of the British gentry. The literary heroes being in opposition to professional police force detectives from the working classes.
The House of Silk is a Sherlock Holmes novel written by British author Anthony Horowitz, published in 2011. The book was promoted with the claim it was the first time the Conan Doyle Estate had authorised a new novel that is not a Sherlock Holmes pastiche.
In Agatha Christie's mystery novels, several characters cross over different sagas, creating a fictional universe in which most of her stories are set. This article has one table to summarize the novels with characters who occur in other Christie novels; the table is titled Crossovers by Christie. There is brief mention of characters crossing over in adaptations of the novels. Her publications, both novels and short stories, are then listed by main detective, in order of publication. Some stories or novels authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie, using the characters she created, and written long after Agatha Christie died, are included in the lists.
Come On, Jeeves is a comedic play co-written by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. The play was written in the summer of 1952, and toured the English provinces in the summer of 1954. Wodehouse adapted the play into the novel Ring for Jeeves, which was first published in April 1953, a year before the play reached production. Come On, Jeeves is still occasionally produced and was presented as recently as December 2017.
Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. was a 2014 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in response to an appeal filed by the defendants against the 2013 ruling of the U.S. District Court for Northern district of Illinois. These decisions, by the District Court and the Court of the Seventh Circuit, clarified the validity of the use of characters of Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr. John Watson, and the story elements, in unlicensed works. Further, the scope of using characters, in the public domain was also clarified.
Lord Peter Wimsey is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1973 and 1983, with a further adaptation of Gaudy Night mounted for BBC Audiobooks in 2005 to complete the full sequence of Sayers' novels, all starring Ian Carmichael in the title role.
Miss Marple is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories. The original series consisted of adaptations of all twelve Miss Marple novels, dramatised by Michael Bakewell and directed by Enyd Williams. They were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1993 and 2001 and starred June Whitfield as Miss Marple.