Mark Twain was renowned for his stinging wit , but he also had a softer side . The writer was the male parent of two daughters , Clara and Susy Clemens , and every night , he told them a bedtime story . Twain never published any of these pouf tales , but he did outline one , and call the 16 - page body of work " Oleomargarine . " Now , The New York Timesreports , publishing company Doubleday is expanding the narrative into an illustrated minor ’s rule book , slated for liberation this fall .
Researcher John Bird was perusing University of California - Berkeley ’s Brobdingnagian Twain archive in 2011 , searching for food references to add to a Mark Twain - theme cookery book . He suppose " Oleomargarine " sounded like a recipe — but it twist out to be a bedtime story , written by Twain nearly 140 year ago .
" Oleomargarine " denote to a prince of the same name , who ’s kidnapped by giant , and held hostage in a cave guarded by dragons . A wretched boy named Johnny — who gains the power to mouth to animals after eating a magic peak — embarks on a missionary work to rescue him .
After peruse Twain ’s journal , which mentioned nightly bedtime tales boast a boy name Johnny , Bird approximate that Twain recount the story to his daughters in 1879 ( third daughter , Jean , was born the following class ) . Susy and Clara eventually grew bored with the character reference , but nobody quite lie with why Twain did n’t end up " Oleomargarine , " nor whether he ever planned to share it . However , experts do conceive it may have been the only fairy tale that Twain — a prolific journalist , litterateur , novelist , and short tale author — ever committed to theme .
Bird apprise the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford , Connecticut , and they sold the right to Doubleday Books for Young Readers . The publisher hired author - illustrator distich Philip and Erin Stead to expand on the body of work ; the final product isThe Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine , a 152 - pageboy Scripture sport original draft .
Twain ’s voice is always present , even though the book is framed as a story " told to me by my friend , Mark Twain . " Philip Stead study a few volume of the author ’s monolithic autobiography to capture his raw tone , and in one scene , Twain even pop into the story and argues against the plot ’s progression .
The GuardianreportsthatThe Purloining of Prince Oleomargarinewill be publish on September 26 , which is the 150th anniversary of Twain ’s first book , the short - story collectionThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches(1867 ) .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
