Lost Simone de Beauvoir novel from 1954 to be published nearly 75 years later

The French writer is best remembered for her seminal 1949 work The Second Sex

Simone de Beauvoir's semi-autobiographical novel was supposedly considered 'too intimate' to publish (Getty Images)

A novel by the acclaimed French writer Simone de Beauvoir that was deemed “too intimate” to publish during her lifetime is finally set to be released.

Les inséparables tells the story of a friendship between two girls who strike up a passionate friendship and rally against cultural norms.

In the UK, the novel will be published by Vintage. Senior editor Charlotte Knight has described it as “a moving, gripping coming-of-age novel about female friendship and finding one’s own way in the world”.

The story is based on de Beauvoir’s real-life friendship with Elisabeth “Zaza” Lacoin, who died of encephalitis at the age of 21.

Written in 1954, Les inséparables was recently found in the archives by the writer’s adopted daughter, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir, who penned the preface.

The book will be published in France in October, by Éditions de l’Herne; English editions won’t be published until 2021.

Les inséparables has already been sold in more than a dozen languages.

De Beauvoir is best known for her seminal 1949 work The Second Sex, in which the writer analysed the treatment of women throughout history.