The New York Times reports that J.D. Salinger may have left five posthumous works that will be published, possibly as soon as 2015.  A documentary directed by Shane Salerno is scheduled for release on September 6, at which point we may know more about “The Last and Best of the Peter Pans.”

One collection, to be called “The Family Glass,” would add five new stories to an assembly of previously published stories about the fictional Glass family, which figured in Mr. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey” and elsewhere, according to the claims, which surfaced in interviews and previews of the documentary and book last week.

Another would include a retooled version of a publicly known but unpublished tale, “The Last and Best of the Peter Pans,” which is to be collected with new stories and existing work about the fictional Caulfields, including “Catcher in the Rye.” 

The 12- page typed manuscript is evidently in Princeton’s Firestone Library and may not be photocopied.  Access is restricted, although it is unclear exactly what that means.  Restricted to whom?  Salinger’s estate stipulates that the work may not be published until 2051!

For a summary of the story, click on the link below, and you learn about the curious ending:

Vincent then retreats to his room. There, he contemplates what has just happened, profoundly sorry. He is sorry for all the people in their ivory towers, sorry for all the soldiers who can’t keep their caps on right, sorry for all of the second-bests in the world. But most of all, Vincent is sorry that he almost compared his mother to Svengali, when in actuality she is the last and best of the Peter Pans.

http://deadcaulfields.com/Unpublished.html