So apparently, Anne Sharp’s presentation copy of Emma recently re-sold for a record-setting £375,000. It’s now the “most expensive” Jane Austen work to date. The new owner is from the U.S., but has decided to loan it indefinitely for display at Chawton House (Jane Austen’s brother Edward’s home in Hampshire, which is now a center dedicated to research on women writers). Jane Austen’s most famous home, Chawton Cottage, is located on the estate and serves as a museum dedicated to the author’s life and works.
More on this sale, Jane Austen’s Emma, and early editions of and reactions to the work:
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- Yahoo News article on the sale
- The Guardian’s article on the sale
- Hampshire Chronicle article on the sale
- More about Jane Austen’s Emma, the novel
- Previous sales of Anne Sharp’s copy of Emma
- Sotheby’s Lot 86 (previous sale)
- 2012 Daily Mail article (previous sale)
- Original piece on 2010 sale
- Laurel Ann on Jane Austen’s friendship with Anne Sharp
- Opinions of Jane Austen’s Emma (including Anne Sharp’s) adapted from my original article at the Emma Adaptations Pages
- Letters on the publication of Emma from the Emma Adaptations Page