V.C. Andrews (lost unpublished stories of gothic fiction author; 1970s)

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1978 photo of V.C. Andrews holding a copy of Flowers in the Attic.

Status: Lost

V.C. Andrews (Cleo Virginia Andrews) was a best-selling author of gothic fiction during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for the infamous Flowers in the Attic. After her death in 1986, a ghostwriter was selected by her estate to continue writing and publishing books under her name.

Despite the continuing popularity of stories by her or under her name, Andrews had several manuscripts that went unpublished during her lifetime and have yet to see the light of day. According to the fansite The Complete V.C. Andrews, Andrews wrote nine novels and twenty short stories between 1972 and 1979[1].

Unpublished Novels

During her lifetime, Andrews wrote at least four stories that went unpublished. Her first novel, the fantasy Gods of Green Mountain, finally saw release in eBook format in 2004 (Almost 20 years after her death). For some unknown reason, the other three novels were left unpublished.

The best known of these unpublished manuscripts is The Obsessed, an 800-page novel. For many years it was believed to have been the original manuscript for Flowers in the Attic, but in a 2013 interview with Flowers editor Ann PattyThe Obsessed is a completely unrelated story[2]. Patty claimed it was in possession of one of Andrews' brothers. As of 2014, both of her brothers have passed away[3], and The Obsessed's current whereabouts are unknown.

Andrews' other unreleased novels, Castles of the Damned (a 900-page medieval romance)[4] and All The Gallant Snowflakes, similarly have gone unpublished.

Short Stories

As mentioned above, Andrews wrote 20 short stories. Only one short story, I Slept with My Uncle On my Wedding Night, was published in a pulp-confession magazine[5]. Andrews did not tell anyone what magazine it was published in, and the story has not resurfaced since its unknown publication.

As for her other short stories, they too remain unpublished.

Where the Greener Grass Grows

In June 2015, Jessica Z. AKA Cleo the Dog visited Boston University's archive of Andrews' works in the Contemporary Collections of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center[6]. Jessica had found several of Andrews' unpublished works, including a poem, song, and most notably Where the Greener Grass Grows, the first draft of Andrews' Petals on the Wind. However, the first chapter was missing and Jessica was unable to copy or take the draft with her. According to her summary, Grass was significantly different from the published draft.

References