A magazine written by Charlotte Bronte when she was 14 has sold at auction for £690,850 - more than double the figure estimated, reports the Press Association.
The Young Men's Magazine Number 2 was bought by The Musee des Lettres et Manuscrits, a museum of letters and manuscripts in Paris that will exhibit the manuscript in January. The hand-written magazine describes Glass Town, a fantasy world created by Charlotte, her sisters and brother Branwell.
The unpublished story is 4,000 words and 19 pages long as is dated August 1830. As Charlotte was the eldest of the Bronte sisters, it is probably the earliest fictional creation devised by any the literary trio. As yet unseen by scholars, it promises to offer intriguing insights into the early development of literary mind that brought the world Jane Eyre 17 years later.
Bronte fans who have debated which of the sisters were the biggest talent now have one criteria settled. If the modern day value of their work is yardstick, Charlotte's astonishing sale today set a new record for anything any of them ever published.
Dr Philip Errington, director and senior specialist at the auction house told PA: "Sotheby's was honoured to sell a manuscript of such rarity and huge literary significance and the record price set today reflects the international interest in Charlotte Bronte's work."
The Musee des Lettres et Manuscrits should make a good home for the manuscript of one of English literature's most cherished daughters. The Young Men's Magazine Number 2 It will be in fine company alongside nearly 250 original manuscripts and letters including the poems of Paul Éluard and notable documents by Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Marchel Proust.