![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: Entertainment: Arts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
![]() |
Friday, 26 July, 2002, 14:25 GMT 15:25 UK
£40,000 Austen sale breaks record
![]() The three volumes were found in a Scottish castle
A rare first edition of Pride and Prejudice has broken records for a Jane Austen book after being sold at auction for £40,000.
Its price was described as "incredible" by auctioneers, who had expected the complete three-volume set to fetch about £12,000.
The book's owners did not realise they had the full set until they were about to move out of their Scottish castle and found the three volumes in different rooms. "There was a lot of competition and it was very exciting," said Philip Gregory of auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull. "We're absolutely over the moon because we didn't think it would sell for quite so much."
"I've spoken to the people who were selling it and they are over the moon as well. In fact, they could hardly believe it." The owners of the castle in Ayrshire, south west of Glasgow, called in Lyon and Turnbull's book expert John Sibbald to identify finds as they were packing to move. "We initially found volume three in the tower," said Mr Sibbald. "This in itself was a very exciting find. "Later, my colleague and I were cataloguing some books in the hallway and found volume one. The hunt was then on for volume two. Happily we found it in the library." Best-loved The original version of the Austen novel was written in the form of an exchange of letters in 1796-7 under the title First Impressions. Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813 and has long been Austen's best-loved novel. In 2001, a first edition of Pride and Prejudice was auctioned for £23,500 as part of a £60,000 set of five rare Austen books. The story, which was turned into a popular BBC drama, traces the tempestuous relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy. |
![]() |
See also:
![]()
23 Jul 02 | Arts
07 Jun 01 | Arts
05 Dec 01 | Arts
30 Oct 01 | England
12 Jul 02 | Arts
Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Arts stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Arts stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Arts stories |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |