"There were ninety-seven New York advertising men in the hotel, and, the way they were monopolizing the long-distance lines, the girl in 507 had to wait from noon till almost two-thirty to get her call through. She used the time, though. She read an article in a women's pocket-size magazine, called 'Sex Is Fun - or Hell.' She washed her comb and brush. She took the spot out of the skirt of her beige suit..."

It's the quintessential opening to a Salinger story. Precise, vivid sentences dripping out of the narrative with anaphoric regularity, and a colourful characterisation of the opposite sex. Salinger's style is blisteringly unique, and for the millions who fell in love with his work the reclusive author was a perpetually enigmatic source of inspiration. A literary genius, but a man who detested the limelight and declined the burden of public attention - he was, as the New York Times put it, "famous for not wanting to be famous." On Wednesday 27th January 2010, JD Salinger passed away peacefully at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire at the respectable age of 91.

Salinger published just one, generation-defining novel during his long life; the universally-recognised hit, Catcher in the Rye. Apart from this work and some small collections of short stories, Salinger refused to allow his writing - which he purportedly worked on continuously until his death - to see the light of day. For years, rumours about manuscripts kept in a safe and other hidden scribblings have captured the imagination of Salinger fans who dream of finding out what the quiet, introspective man had been producing in dignified solitude.

Now there is a chance to find out. As literature fans around the world mourn the passing of one of America's greatest authors, the world of publishing is closing in on Salinger's secrets. The proverbial vultures, it seems, are already circling. For just one example, see the literary website, Booklist, which has published an article speculating on what might be found in the staunchly guarded documents and drafts. And unauthorised publications of Salinger's work have in the past tried to breech the restrictions he put on the re-publication of past successes. As a man who denied access to biographers and gave only a handful of interviews in his entire life, there is now a great temptation to rip open that world of silence and mystique which has for so long been synonymous with the name 'JD Salinger.'

But SHN has spoken to Chris Kubica, the editor of Letters to JD Salinger - an extraordinary collection of epistles written by ardent fans of the quiet author's books. They are candid, expressive communications to the ever-silent author and they represent appreciations by literary professors, prominent American writers, and enthusiastic teenagers. The book not only captures the widespread interest in Salinger's work, it manages to preserve the author's right to aloofness with adequate poignancy.

Kubica told me that it's highly likely that the rumoured manuscripts do exist, going on the evidence of several corroborating accounts: "Salinger had an affair with a woman called Joyce Maynard and she goes into details in her book about file cabinets labelled 'stories' which have notes on them like 'to be published after I'm dead' and 'to be burned after I'm dead' and so on. I'm sure he's got a treasure trove of material sitting around and in terms of trying to get it published, it's going to be a matter of wading through the instructions he gave to his children."

However, as is to be expected with Salinger, nothing is ever very straight-forward. The legal details of his Will are unknown, and it is not clear to anyone outside his family and closest friends who the principal executors of that Will are likely to be.

But is there a case for restraining efforts to crack open the Salinger shell and watching what unseen literary gems fall out? Kubica thinks so.

"I respect the fact that in a world where everybody would sell out, and every author has a website and a twitter account, prostituting themselves all over the place, he was one of the few people who - for better or worse - was interested in art for art's sake. He hated publicity and attention, and the process of dealing with publishers. What he wanted to do more than anything was focus on his writing."

On Salinger's 90th birthday last year, The Guardian published a celebratory but respectful blog post which mused on the attempts of many to find out more about the recluse and his rumoured writings. The author of the article, Xan Brooks, decided not to pry too much and concluded, "let's whisper our message and then gently leave him be. Happy 90th birthday, Jerome David Salinger. We hope you are healthy, we hope you are writing and we hope that it's good. And fear not: there is no surprise party in the offing. The card's not even in the post."

Salinger himself wrote, in his short story Franny and Zooey, "An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's."

He may prove himself right even now, after death. Whether we will is another matter.