JD Salinger’s Unpublished Works Leaked Online
J.D. Salinger’s unpublished works were leaked online early this week. The 41-page album includes three stories, which were never published. The complete album is simply titled Three Stories. The short stories are titled “Birthday Boy,” “Paula,” and “The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls.”
Experts believe the book was originally offered on eBay during a September auction. The online auction described the work as “Three Stories UNPUBLISHED JD Salinger… ” It eventually sold for around $110.
An image included with the description suggests the book was published in 1999 in London, and it was the 6th of 25 printed copies.
As reported by CNN, the purchaser most likely scanned the book and uploaded the images to create an album. Although several sources have authenticated the work, the ethics of publishing the stories online have been questioned.
Princeton spokesman Martin Mbugua said at least one the stories was obviously copied from the library’s highly guarded collection:
“The story is probably an unauthorized version transcribed longhand in our reading room… It’s also possible that it came from photocopies of the typescript probably made before the mid-1980s when we decided that we would no longer allow photo-duplication for any work by Salinger.”
Princeton’s collection is only available to scholars, who are closely supervised by library personnel. JD Salinger himself closely guarded his work and was hesitant to have it published. The Catcher in The Rye remains his only published novel.
A native of New York, Salinger spent a great deal of his life in seclusion. Despite living as a recluse, he is considered one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century.
Although Salinger only published a few works, he continued writing for decades. Rumors about the existence of numerous unpublished novels have persisted following his 2010 death. One rumor suggests up to five of his previously unknown novels will be published in the coming years.
JD Salinger remains a well-respected and iconic author. The album containing the unpublished short stories is available through Imgur.
[Image via Wikimedia]
