The size of a project can be such that a piece of literature is never finished. Geoffrey Chaucer never completed "The Canterbury Tales" to the extensive length that he originally intended. Chaucer had, however, already written much of the work at the time of his death, and the "Canterbury Tales" are considered to be a seminal work despite the unfinished status. English poet Edmund Spenser originally intended "The Faerie Queene" to consist of 12 books; even at its unfinished state—6 books were published before Spenser's death—it is the longest epic poem in the English language. Honoré de Balzac, the French novelist, completed nearly 100 pieces for his novel sequence "La Comédie humaine", but a planned 48 more were never finished. Notes and plot outlines left behind by an author may allow a successor to complete a novel or series of novels. Frank Herbert left behind extensive notes related to his "Dune" universe, which led to son Brian Herbert and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson's completing several prequels to the popular series. Mervyn Peake, author of the Gormenghast novels, meant to write a complete biography of the main character, Titus, but died after only completing three books in the series.