‘Oliver Twist’ sold for $229,000

A first edition of “Oliver Twist,” Charles Dickens’ tale of a scrappy young orphan making his way among a band of thieves in 19th century London, sold for $229,000 at Christie’s International in New York on Wednesday, a record for the British novelist.

The book, published in 1838 and inscribed by the author to William Ainsworth, a friend and fellow novelist, was bought by an anonymous U.S. collector, a Christie’s spokeswoman said. The previous auction record for a Dickens novel was held by “A Christmas Carol,” which sold for $160,000 in 1996 at Sotheby’s in New York.