Joyce letter sold

The first letter written by James Joyce as he offered his debut work for publication has sold for £32,265 (€48,900) at auction.

The letter, written at the start of his long battle to have Dubliners published, was bought at Christie’s in London by a member of the trade.

The price, which was more than £2,000 (€3,000) above the highest estimated value, included buyer’s premium.

In the letter, written on September 23, 1905, when the author was just 23, Joyce pleaded to publisher W Heinemann: “The book is not a collection of tourist impressions but an attempt to represent certain aspects of the life of one of the European capitals.”