Rare Jane Austen novel has sold for a record price at auction
The auction house Sotheby's has sold the only major remaining Jane Austen manuscript. It is thought she wrote the manuscript in 1804.
The manuscript entitled, The Watsons, sold for £993,250 at auction including buyer's premium, tripling its estimate of between £200 and £300 thousand.
It is considered the most important Jane Austen item to come to the market in over 20 years. It was bought by an anonymous bidder in the room to a round of applause.
Sotheby's specialist Gabriel Heaton explains why the work is so important.