London library book returned almost 50 years late...with a cheeky note

At a rate of 10 per day, the library fine for the book’s late return would have been £1,254
The book was returned nearly 50 years after it was first loaned
UCL Library
Elly Blake30 March 2022

An “antique” Latin book has been returned to a London university library nearly 50 years after it was due back.

The book, an 1875 edition of a play called Querolus, was due to be returned to UCL Libraries in summer 1974.

The anonymous borrower returned the overdue book with a cheeky note instructing the librarian, “don’t throw it out, now that I’ve taken the time and trouble to return it”.

The note read: “Dear Librarian, I fear this book is some 50 years overdue!

“Please don’t just throw it out, now that I’ve taken the time and trouble to return it. It must be an ‘antique’ by now.”

The university’s librarian said her “jaw dropped” when she read the accompanying note.

Suzanne Traue discovered the book, which had been posted back anonymously, upon returning to the library after 18 months of working from home.

She said she found lots of books on her desk with no note to indicate who they were from or why they had been sent to her.

“To be honest, my first thought when I saw the padded envelope was, ‘Oh no, not another one...,

“I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book came with a note, but I think my jaw may literally have dropped when I read it.”

At a rate of 10p per day, the library fine for the book’s late return would have been £1,254.

The book is a comedy from the fifth century and tells the story of a magician who attempts to cheat a poor man of his inheritance.

The library had other several editions of this work, but the returned book was a hard copy of the original 1875 edition.

Professor Gesine Manuwald, head of the Greek and Latin department, said: “It is amazing to see such loyalty from a former user of the UCL Library that they bring back a book after almost 50 years.

“In a sense this book is ‘antique’ since it dates from 1875, but it is still the most recent edition of the work in the standard Teubner series of scholarly editions of ancient Greek and Latin texts.”

UCL Libraries encourages customers to return their books on time, but automatic renewals have been in place since March 2021.

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