Update: the manuscript sold for £990,000 to the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford University [with a little help from The National Heritage Memorial Fund] – thanks to Tony Grant for this information in his comment below – here is the latest news from the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14152092 [though they could have spelled Bodleian correctly!]

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I am still on the road with little access – so thanks to Julie at Austenonly for the news that Jane Austen’s The Watson’s sold for over £850,000 this morning in London! – read Julie’s post here: http://austenonly.com/2011/07/14/the-watsons-sells-at-sothebys-in-london/ – stay tuned for the announcement of who bought it – apparently an institution – I would hazard a guess it is the Pierpont Morgan in New York City –  where the first pages of the manuscript are now housed – and though nothing against the Morgan, I guess I would prefer to see it at Chawton House Library, close to where it laid on a shelf somewhere in Chawton Cottage for a good number of years.

More later.  You can read my original post here:  https://janeausteninvermont.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/on-the-block-jane-austens-the-watsons/