--- description: Penguin Random House is set to publish a never finished children's story from Mark Twain on Sept. 26, 2017. title: A Children's Story Mark Twain Never Finished Is Coming Soon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf201380fa1eb70dd/6988b6ce656a3fe6d2bce7ef/gettyimages-2504374.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Children's Story Mark Twain Never Finished Is Set to Publish This Fall by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 23, 2017 5:43 PM CUT  A portrait of American writer Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens, 1835 - 1910), circa 1900\. Hulton Archive—Getty Images A portrait of American writer Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens, 1835 - 1910), circa 1900\. Hulton Archive—Getty ImagesHulton Archive—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 23, 2017 5:43 PM CUT A story Mark Twain never finished will gain new life this fall thanks to author Phillip Stead and illustrator Erin Stead. The book, titled _The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine,_ originated as a bedtime story told by the _Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ author read to his young daughters one night while they were staying in a Paris hotel, according to the story’s publisher [Penguin Random House](http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/248945/the-purloining-of-prince-oleomargarine-by-mark-twain-and-philip-c-stead/ "undefined"). The publisher says that while Twain took notes on the story, he never finished it. Twain and Erin will share writing credits for the book. Phillip, however, will pick up were Twain left off and reimagine the story about a poor boy named Johnny whose magical seeds lead to a whirlwind adventure. [USA _Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/01/20/mark-twain-newly-discovered-story-to-be-published-the-purloining-of-prince-oleomargarine/96841748/ "undefined") reports the new book will also include some interjections by Phillip, who in the story is meeting with Twain for tea. Erin will illustrate the new all-ages book, which will be 152 pages long with 11 chapters. The book is set to publish Sept. 26. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4643504/mark-twain-childrens-story-fall-2017/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4643504/mark-twain-childrens-story-fall-2017/"},"headline":"A Children's Story Mark Twain Never Finished Is Set to Publish This Fall","datePublished":"2017-01-23T17:43:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:53:24.333Z","description":"The book is set to publish on Sept. 26.","url":"https://time.com/4643504/mark-twain-childrens-story-fall-2017/","keywords":["Books","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf201380fa1eb70dd/6988b6ce656a3fe6d2bce7ef/gettyimages-2504374.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf201380fa1eb70dd/6988b6ce656a3fe6d2bce7ef/gettyimages-2504374.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mark Twain","caption":"Mark Twain","creditText":"Hulton Archive—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4643504/mark-twain-childrens-story-fall-2017/","name":"A Children's Story Mark Twain Never Finished Is Set to Publish This Fall"}}]}] ```