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Uncovered: Dr. Seuss’ book of female nudes

As the world stands by anxiously awaiting the release of a new, posthumous book from beloved author Theodore Geisl, a.k.a Dr. Seuss, they've been feeding their excitement by looking into the life of the author.

As proven in the past, when people begin to dig into someone's life, unexpected things appear.

In the children's author case, it's a book featuring nude females.

Maria Popova of Brain Pickings explains, "in 1939, when Geisel left Vanguard for Random House, he had one condition for his new publisher, Bennett Cerf — that he would let Geisel do an 'adult' book first."

Geisel decided to focus his "adult" book on the 11th-century story of Lady Godiva, who rode through England naked to protest her husband's refusal to lower the town's tax burden.

 In the foreword of The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family, Geisel writes, "History has treated no name so shabbily as it has the name Godiva."

He continues, "the author feels that the time has come to speak: there was not one; there were seven Lady Godivas, and their nakedness actually was not a thing of shame."

Unfortunately, the story, a "beautiful story of love, honor and scientific achievement" as Geisel called it, was a disappointment all around.

The book only sold 2,500 copies out of 10,000 and after 1987, was no longer reprinted, left to fade into history.

The author was equally disappointed in how his book came out, commenting, "I attempted to draw the sexiest babes I could, but they came out looking absurd," adding he'd prefer to just write for kids.

If you are one of the lucky few to have your hands on this forgotten, scandalous Seuss book, take heart - the books are now selling for as much as $300 online.

WARNING: IMAGES CONTAIN CARTOON FEMALE NUDITY

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