Bidder pays £28,000 for Harry Potter's secrets ...
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A card containing a jumble of words providing an insight into the secret plot of the long-awaited new Harry Potter book was sold at auction for £28,680 yesterday.
The 93-word teaser, hand-written by the Harry Potter author, J K Rowling, was bought for almost six times its £5,000 reserve price by an American collector who wished to remain anonymous.
The story of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a closely guarded secret, with Sotheby's revealing only that the words "Ron ... broom ... sacked ... house-elf ... new ... teacher ... dies ... sorry" are in the teaser. Written in blue ink, the lot was sold "sight unseen" – meaning a buyer could choose to keep the plot a secret.
J K Rowling produced the signed card at a Society of Authors conference earlier this year when writers were asked to submit items for auction to help benefit Book Aid International. The charity said the £24,000 profit from the Rowling sale would buy 18,500 books for schools in African countries.
Sara Harrity, Book Aid International director, said: "It's a wonderful Christmas present for readers in some of the world's poorest countries."
A Harry Potter website representing fans worldwide was quickly defeated in its £15,000 bid for a sneak peek at the novel but the group, www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, donated the sum to the charity nevertheless. Melissa Anelli, managing editor of the site, said: "We were worried that a wealthy fan would win it and keep its contents private from the millions of fans eagerly waiting for more than two and a half years to find out about the next book. We can only hope that the person who got it shares it."
Meanwhile, a hard-backed version of a Harry Potter book bought by a woman from Swindon for £10.99 five years ago was sold at auction yesterday for £13,000. Dominic Winter Book Auction in Swindon, which sold the book, said it was one of just 300 printed. Only a few are privately owned. It was bought by a book dealer from Bristol.
The seller, Monica Timms, 56, said: "I just need to sit down and get over it now."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments