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Peter Rabbit

Birthday surprise: Peter Rabbit returns in unpublished Beatrix Potter tale

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Peter Rabbit doll by R. John Wright. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Morphy Auctions
Peter Rabbit doll by R. John Wright. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Morphy Auctions

 

LONDON (AP) – Peter Rabbit is back, in a previously unpublished story by children’s author Beatrix Potter.

The Tale of Kitty-In-Boots was tracked down by publisher Jo Hanks after she found a reference to the manuscript in a book about the author. Potter had written to her publisher about the story of “a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life.”

Hanks discovered manuscripts of the story in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Potter archive. The feline tale features an older version of Peter Rabbit, Potter’s best-known creation.

Penguin Random House will publish the tale later this year, the 150th anniversary of Potter’s birth. Quentin Blake will provide illustrations.

Generations of children have grown up with Potter’s tales of animal characters including Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and hedgehog Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.

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AP-WF-01-26-16 1102GMT