Austen first edition sells for record price

A complete first edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, discovered in a Scottish castle, set a new world record yesterday when it was sold for £40,000.

Auctioneers had estimated that the rare copy would fetch around £12,000 and were stunned when it sold for more than three times that amount.

Bidders flew to Edinburgh from as far afield as America to bid for the three-volume edition, which was published in 1813 and discovered by chance in the castle in Ayrshire while the owners were moving house.

The lot was snapped up by a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous. The price was the most paid for an Austen novel.

Philip Gregory of the Edinburgh auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull, who organised the sale, admitted they were amazed. "There was a lot of competition and it was very exciting. We're over the moon because we didn't think it would sell for quite so much."

The owners of the castle, who also wish to remain anonymous, have admitted they had no idea where it had originally come from.

Lyon and Turnbull's book specialist, John Sibbald, said: "We initially found volume three in the tower. 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."