The never-ending story

Fan fiction writers moving into publishing careers may seem new, but there’s long been a group of writers who have written publishing company-sanctioned novels based on the work of acclaimed writers.

Fans of Jane Austen’s beloved characters have created a mini industry spinning off novels based on Austen’s work. As far back as 1913, Sybil Brinton wrote ‘‘Old Friends and New Fancies,’’ the first sequel to an Austen book. In the spirit of fan fiction, Brinton cobbled together characters from all six of Austen’s novels to create a unique story. In this decade, Linda Berdoll continues to sate the public’s desire to delve into the lives of Austen’s imaginary characters with her work. Berdoll’s 2004 novel ‘‘Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife’’ continues the story of the characters Austen made famous in ‘‘Pride and Prejudice.’’ With ‘‘Darcy & Elizabeth,’’ released last year, Berdoll weaved more tales about the couple.

While Shakespeare used myth and history to concoct his plays, some artists who came after him looked to the work of Shakespeare for creative inspiration. Tom Stoppard based his acclaimed play ‘‘Rosencrantz & Gildenstern Are Dead,’’ on two minor characters in Shakespeare’s ‘‘Hamlet.’’ Like Stoppard, Gregory Maguire found inspiration in a minor character in a beloved tale. His novel ‘‘Wicked’’ told the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from ‘‘The Wizard of Oz.’’ Maguire’s book was adapted into a Broadway musical that became a major hit.

In some cases, books that today would be considered fan fiction have become literary classics. Jean Rhys’s novel ‘‘Wide Sargasso Sea,’’ explores one specific character in Charlotte Bronte’s ‘‘Jane Eyre,’’ telling the story of the madwoman locked in Rochester’s attic. Now ‘‘Wide Sargasso Sea’’ is read in high school and college literature classes.

Then there are the spinoffs that generate media interest by taking on perceived literary sacred cows. Alice Randall stirred up controversy in 2002 when she reimagined the Southern classic ‘‘Gone With the Wind’’ through the eyes of the novel’s enslaved (and mostly silent) protagonists. Randall called her novel ‘‘The Wind Done Gone.’’

VANESSA E. JONES