Jane Austen’s first sale was to Prince Regent: He paid 15 shillings for Sense and Sensibility

The future George IV was the first person to buy a Jane Austen novel, research into the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle has discovered

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Prince Regent was better known for his saucy personal life than his eye for literary talent.

But in between his numerous dalliances and extravagant spending, the future George IV found time to become the first person to buy a Jane Austen novel too, research into the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle has discovered.

The year was 1811 and the unknown Austen was about to publish her debut novel Sense And Sensibility, albeit anonymously with the title page of the first edition saying ‘by a lady’.

A newly discovered bill from a bookseller, in copperplate script on yellowing paper, shows that on October 28, 1811, the Prince Regent bought a three-volume edition of Sense And Sensibility for 15 shillings – £75 today.

The bill was found by history PhD student Nick Foretek, one of 40 researchers involved so far in the Georgian Papers Project, as he examined boxes of papers in Windsor’s Round Tower.

The bill’s date is significant – it was two days before the first public advertisement for Sense And Sensibility, and raises the question of what led George to buy a copy.

Mr Foretek, 29, of Pennsylvania University, said: ‘This is perhaps the earliest known transaction of any Austen novel.’

The prince’s copy came from Becket & Porter in Pall Mall, his preferred booksellers. Mr Foretek said: ‘I imagine that the bookseller’s familiarity with his client’s taste for novels is likely to have led him to buy a copy for the prince.’

In 1811 the unknown Austen was about to publish her debut novel Sense And Sensibility, albeit anonymously with the title page of the first edition saying 'by a lady'

In 1811 the unknown Austen was about to publish her debut novel Sense And Sensibility, albeit anonymously with the title page of the first edition saying ‘by a lady’

George bought all Austen’s novels, but the whereabouts of his copy of Sense And Sensibility are unknown.

The Georgian Papers Project intends to catalogue and make available online some 425,000 pages of documents, both official and private, relating to the Georgian monarchy held in the Royal Archives and Royal Library.

The project is a partnership between the Royal Archives and Royal Library with King’s College London, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, and the College of William & Mary.

 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk