A BOOK signed by its author H. G. Wells and given to writer Henry James, who also signed it, has been sold at auction.

The tome, a romantic novel entitled Ann Veronica, was among a library of books from the home near Bridgwater of Dr MacDonald Critchley.

There was plenty of interest in the book, which eventually sold for £5,000 at the Charterhouse auction.

Richard Bromell, of Charterhouse, said: "Dr Critchley was a neurologist who himself published over 200 articles on neurology along with 20 books.

"His library of books was quite extensive on medical books relating to phrenology and neurology from the 19th Century but he also had a great passion for novels.

“We were instructed to clear the library of books by solicitors in Devon and the books totalled over £22,000.”

Also sold from the Critchley library was a copy of Bram Stoker's iconic gothic novel Dracula, which went for £1,500, a set of Nonesuch Dickens (£2,800), while a copy of David, by D H Lawrence, with his own personal annotations, made £2,800.

Matching the £5,000 bid for the signed Wells book was the collection of letters which formed the first volume of William Donaldson’s Henry Root Letters.

Being offered for auction on behalf of his wife, the archive of letters had been stored in files for years. Also sold with other ephemera and books by William Donaldson, many with presentation inscriptions by him to his wife, the collection totalled over £7,500.