Buchanbook poses mystery

The book by The Thirty Nine Steps author John Buchan was discovered among thousands of novels donated to this year's Christian Aid annual sale.

And while the book itself is rare, it is a letter glued into the inside cover which has sparked the most excitement in literary circles.

Penned by the writer himself it defends the origins of a character no-one has ever read about.

The rare copy of The Watcher by the Threshold is expected to raise up to #700 when it goes on sale next month.

But it is the mysterious letter which is likely to spark most interest among literary experts.

Hand written by Buchan, it appears to be a response to claims that one of his characters is based on a real person.

Referring to the mysterious ''Master Sandiman'', Buchan insists the character is not real or historic but comes from his own imagination.

Yet no-one has been able to find a Master Sandiman in any of his novels, suggesting the character never made it to print, or his name was changed under pressure.

Convener of the annual sale Mary Davidson said the letter had sparked speculation that Buchan was making the denial to a celebrated Edinburgh family.

She said: ''It was written in 1900 and we've looked through his previous works but can find no such character.

''We wondered if he was writing to the Sandiman family of Leith, who are well known as brewers of port.''

Every year boxloads of books arrive at the Christian Aid offices for the annual sale - the charity's biggest single fundraising event.

They come from all over Britain, and Mrs Davidson said it was impossible to trace who had donated the valuable book, or find out if they had even realised its importance.

She said its discovery had sent a wave of excitement through charity workers who were stunned to discover its value. Mrs Davidson said: ''We've never had a first edition with a letter like this - it's very exciting.

''We haven't decided on a price yet, we're waiting to hear back from professional booksellers and plan to put a fixed price on it for the sale - it won't go to auction.''

Perth-born John Buchan's most famous novel The Thirty Nine Steps was made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock, but he published more than 100 books in his lifetime, including a biography of Sir Walter Scott.

Buchan was born in 1875 and educated at Oxford. He later became Baron of Tweedsmuir and served as the Governor-General of Canada.

In 1927 the author moved back to Scotland and took up the position of Chancellor at the University of Edinburgh. He died aged 64 at his home after slipping in the bath. The Thirty Nine Steps still sells an estimated 100,000 copies a year.

Literary expert Professor Ian Campbell, from Edinburgh University, said the discovery of the letter in the first edition threw up a number of intriguing questions.

He said: ''I would raise an eyebrow as to whether Buchan was being honest or covering up. The good thing is it throws up a lot of literary questions. It should raise quite a lot of money.''

The Christian Aid book sale takes place in Edinburgh's George Street over a week in May.

Meanwhile, a book of bird illustrations found at a country house on the Isle of Bute after being ''lost'' since 1909, sold for $5.5m at Christie's in New York, on Monday. The four-volume first edition of The Birds of America by John James Audubon (1785-1851) was bought anonymously, well above its estimate of around $2m.

The work was sold by the present Lord Bute, previously international racing driver Johnny Dumfries who prefers to be known as Johnny Bute, and the money will be used to maintain and improve Mount Stuart.

Considered the finest colour plate work on ornithology ever produced, the book was issued in parts to a list of 161 original subscribers.