Samuel Beckett manuscript purchased by University of Reading

The University of Reading has announced it has purchased the manuscript of Samuel Beckett’s novel Murphy at a Sotheby’s auction for the price of £962,500.  The manuscript has been in private hands for several decades; its move to Reading will allow Beckett researchers and the general public greater access to this important manuscript.  The University of Reading is home to a significant Samuel Beckett collection.  Other major Beckett collections are housed at Trinity College, Dublin, and The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. 

The full press release is on the University of Reading’s website.

Read an assessment of the sale in The Guardian.