Charlotte Brontë's early Book of Rhymes sold for £1m

A miniature book written by novelist Charlotte Brontë when she was 13 has been bought for $1.25m (£983,500).

The tiny manuscript - measuring just 3.8in x 2.5in (9.7cm x 6.4cm) - was created by the young writer in 1829.

It will be donated to the Brontë Society's Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where it was written, after being bought by a charity.

The work, entitled A Book of Rhymes and containing 10 poems, was one of six "little books" written by Charlotte.

Charlotte, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters, went on to write her classic novel Jane Eyre 18 years later.

Smaller than a playing card, the 15-page manuscript is stitched in its original brown paper covers and features poems including Theres Beauty in Nature and On Seeing The Ruins of The Tower of Babylon.

The price paid by Friends of the National Libraries (FNL), a UK charity devoted to saving the nation's written and printed heritage, is believed to be the highest ever for a female author.

The previous record was set in September when a first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein sold for $1.17m.

Ann Dinsdale, principal curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be the recipients of this extraordinary and unexpected donation and wish to thank the generosity of the FNL and all of the donors who have made it possible.

"It is always emotional when an item belonging to the Brontë family is returned home and this final little book, coming back to the place it was written when it had been thought lost, is very special for us."

A Book of Rhymes sold at the 2022 New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, it was last seen at auction in 1916, where it fetched $520 (£408).

Geordie Greig, FNL chairman, called it a "giant gain for Britain".

"Friends of the National Libraries had the daunting task of raising $1.25m in just two weeks," he said.

"It is due to wonderfully generous donors that FNL did raise this sum to buy this rarest of manuscripts and return it to its rightful home."

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