Sale missive is a Darling thing to own

A LETTER written by Victorian heroine Grace Darling 172 years ago will be sold at auction in the Capital next month.

In the letter, dated January 10, 1840, Grace discussed the trust set up for the money raised after her audacious rescue of the survivors from The Forfarshire ship wreck near the Farne Islands in 1838.

The letter, valued at between £350 and £400, will be sold off by Edinburgh auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, in Broughton Place, on Wednesday.

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In it, Grace comments that the Duke of Northumberland and Archdeacon Thorp “have kindly taken in hand to manage my affairs, that they propose placing the whole of my money in the fund, that I receive the interest for life with power to withdraw £200 in case I should get married”.

She also expressed how grateful she was for the contributions. “I am with sincere gratitude to the ladies in Edinburgh and Miss Sinclair in particular,” she wrote.

Grace died of tuberculosis in 1842, at the age of 26, and she received a large financial reward in addition to the praise of the nation.

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