Column Chronicles: Classic novel sequels that failed

Classic novel sequels that failed

Frank Cotolo
January 29, 2026

SON OF MOBY DICK - A Herman Melville-imitator wrote a follow up to Melville's classic whale tale. In it, the son of the orginal's main character Captain Ahab sets sail to kill all of the male white whales in existence in order to make the species extinct and revenge the death of his father. Unfortunately the Melville imitator was ignorant of punctuation and refused to break the twenty million words book with paragraphs. The publishers fired him and quashed the publication.

JANE EYRE AND HER WACKY FRIENDS - The Charlotte Bronte novel sold so well that the publisher hired a team of writers to sensationalize its success with a spinoff book that featured stories about characters from the the hit book. The writing team attempted to duplicate Bronte's clumsy writing style and awkward French passages while assigning each new character with speech impediments and facial deformities. Readers and reviewers rejected it.

TOM BROWN'S, GRADE SCHOOL DAYS - Thomas Hughes' sequel to the title character's school days classic is a narrative by Tom's best friend Egbert. Reported to be written by Hughes while he was being operated upon for health reasons, the text tells of Tom's sensational pranks. They include moving the school library to the town square; drugging the principal and shaving his entire body while he is unconscious; bribing a math teacher to alter basic algebra lessons; and poisoning the school's chalk supply. The book was banned the day after publication.

THE NEW LEGENDS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - Washington Irving turned down big bucks to write a sequel to his popular story about a headless horseman. A rogue publisher then published this title by a writer it called Irving Washington. The contents consisted of seventeen stories about headless physicians, headless detectives, headless farmers and headless acrobats. The book sold ten copies.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.