10 Unfinished Stephen King Novels (That He Should Definitely Finish)

6. Wimsey

stephen king books
BBC

Wimsey has perhaps the most fantastical backstory all of the unfinished works of Stephen King.

In 1977, the King family moved to England. The move was short-lived, but while in the country King, following a conversation with his editor at the time, Bill Thompson, attempted to write a novel using the Dorothy L. Sayers detective Lord Peter Wimsey. Interestingly, when King made the move, his paperback publisher trumpeted that King had gone to England to write another bone-chilling novel, not an English detective tale. It turns out, they were right.

King writing a full length novel using characters other than his own is something that, to this day, has never happened, and the attempt failed. King was true to the history of the character, although he did kill off Wimsey's wife, Harriet, in his manuscript. However, it seems he lost interest in the project, or just couldn't find his muse. Eventually, what he did produce turned out to be the novel Cujo.

However, while the King of 1977 couldn't finish the project, the King of today is a much more seasoned writer - which is why it would be interesting to see him take another crack at the Wimsey character, especially given he has already tackled mystery/crime novels.

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Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.