Most expensive printed book by a female author

Comprised of three volumes, a first edition of the Gothic horror story Frankenstein (or to give it its full title Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus) by British author Mary Shelley (née Godwin) sold for $1,170,000 (£845,865) - including buyer's premium - at Christie's auction house in New York City, USA, on 14 September 2021.

This far exceeded the guide price of $200,000–300,000 (£145,000–217,000). The hammer price (excluding auction fees) was $950,000 (£686,814).

Only 500 copies of the first edition were printed by the London publisher Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, and Jones in 1818. This copy was part of a collection of valuable books from the estate of the late US telecoms businessman Theodore B Baum.

It's thought that the previous sale record for a female-authored book was £180,000 ($354,240) achieved by an inscribed first edition of Emma (1815) by Jane Austen, sold at Bonhams in London, UK, on 24 June 2008.

To date, the most expensive printed book sold at auction is one of only 11 surviving known copies of the Bay Psalm Book (1640), which was bought for $14,165,000 (£8,745,340) at Sotheby’s in New York City, USA, on 26 November 2013. It is the first book ever printed in British North America and just 1,700 copies were produced by the residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.