First Edition copies

"Handsome, clever, and rich", Jane Austen's description of her most famous heroine Emma could also now be applied to a rare first edition of the book itself, after it fetched a record-breaking £180,000 at auction.

The triple-decker edition was inscribed on behalf of Austen to her close confidante, the governess Anne Sharp. One of only 12 presentation copies printed, which otherwise went to family members and publisher John Murray's contacts, it was the only one given to a friend of the author. Yesterday's auction at Bonhams in London was won by an anonymous British bidder, outstripping an anticipated sale price of £50-£70,000, the highest price ever paid for an Austen novel, and comfortably ahead of the £114,000 fetched by a first edition of Wuthering Heights last November.

The vendor, also keen to preserve their anonymity, is descended from the family of Richard Withers, who were left Sharp's property when she died.

The classic novel of matchmaking misadventures was first published in 1816, and remains a favourite among readers (slightly behind Pride and Prejudice - a judgment apparently shared by Sharp, whose opinions were much valued by Austen).

The two met when Sharp became governess to Austen's niece Fanny Knight, and remained lifelong intimates, and It has been claimed that Austen drew on "my dearest Anne's" experiences in drawing the character of Miss Taylor, the governess in Emma.

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