WASHINGTON – Before he educated young readers about schools of fish, chapeaued felines and colored meats, one of the most famed children’s authors added a more risque arrow to his quiver.
Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, joined Random House in 1939 and had one concrete condition for his new publisher, Bennet Cerf: He wanted to write and illustrate an adult book, in his usual style, telling the story of the Lady Godiva.
However, his version would recount what he says is the true story of seven rebellious undressed sisters.
Brainpickings.org reports the resulting “The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family,” sought to enlighten readers to the untold story of nudist sisters — Clementina, Dorcas J., Arabella, Mitzi, Lulu, Gussie and Hedwig — who pledged to bring “to the light of the world some new and worthy Horse Truth, of benefit to man” before they wed.
In the forward, Seuss wrote “the time has come to speak” about the Anglo-Saxon legend of a noblewoman who rode her horse through Coventry to protest her husband’s oppressive taxation. A voyeur, “Peeping Tom,” was struck blind or dead after leering at the display. Suess adds this clarifier:
There was not one; there were Seven Lady Godivas, and their nakedness actually was not a thing of shame. So far as Peeping Tom is concerned, he never really peeped. “Peeping” was merely the old family name, and Tom and his six brothers bore it with pride.”
The Publishers Weekly review on Amazon referred to the work — a publishing flop — as a “frothy, historical romp” and a “revisionist farce.”
“This gives Seuss the opportunity to contrive the origins of such wisdoms as, ‘Don’t put the cart before the horse,'” it says. “Seuss’s only prose work … lacks the sparkle of his children’s verse, his women aren’t as interesting as the real Lady G.”
The review adds readers will be off-put by the resemblance of the likenesses in this volume to other, more familiar Seuss works.
The rare book is available online, though not for cheap. Amazon.com offers used copies for upwards of $50, with new editions into the hundreds.
ABEBooks.com has cheaper copies with fewer details of their quality.
See pictures and learn more about Seuss’ story by following this link.
More Seuss News:
- ‘Lorax’ cleans up at box office with $70.7M debut
- Forget fast food toys: ‘Lorax’ gets green tie-ins
- Video: Sports star Tim Tebow reads Dr. Seuss
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