A "very scarce" first edition copy of War Horse by award-winning St Albans-born author, Michael Morpurgo, which cost just £4.95 new, has been sold for £650 at an auction. Before the sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in London,the book,originally priced at £4.95 when first published in 1982,had been expected to sell for between £600 and £800.
Max Hasler,a modern first editions expert at Bloomsbury Auctions,said: "The book had a very small print run of around 300 to 400 so is a very scarce item."
The book has since inspired a London West End stage play and a Steven Spielberg firm,which was nominated for six Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on February 26.
Michael Morpurgo was born at St Albans on October 5, 1943.
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