Ideal, the first Ayn Rand novel to be released since 1957's Atlas Shrugged, is set to be published by Penguin Random House imprint NAL on July 7, 2015.
The new book, which will be released simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, will include the novel, as well as the play version of the work. Both versions were written in 1934, when Rand was in her late twenties. According to NAL, Rand first wrote Ideal as a novel, but was "dissatisfied with the manuscript and shelved it." She then rewrote Ideal as a stage play (and it was previously published in 2005’s Three Plays).
When Rand died in 1982, philosopher Dr. Leonard Piekoff, the heir to her estate and founder of the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), read the novel for the first time and added it to the Ayn Rand Archives. The book resurfaced, per NAL, in 2012, when Richard Ralston, publishing manager at ARI, found the manuscript while ARI was digitizing the Rand archives. Ralston then brought the work to Piekoff's attention.
"The arrival of a never-before-seen Ayn Rand novel will thrill dedicated readers and is a true publishing event." said NAL’s senior v-p and publisher Kara Welsh.
The novel follows the "beautiful and celebrated screen actress Kay Gonda," explained NAL, a character inspired by real-life movie star Greta Garbo, who "pleads for help from six of her most devoted fans: an upstanding family man, a farmer, an artist, an evangelist, a wealthy playboy, and a lost soul." Gonda tells each fan that she is wanted by the police for murder and needs to hide. By the end of the night, "she has tested the integrity of six people who claim that she is their ideal."
