An overdue book has been returned to a library after 84 years.
The historical novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known for creating Sherlock Holmes, was due back at the start of World War II.
The copy of ‘The Refugees’, first published in 1893, was scheduled for return at Helsinki Central Library Oodi, Finland, on 26 December 1939.
Librarian Heini Strand said: “Always better late than never.”
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She said it’s unclear why the translated book remained missing for over eight decades.
She suggested it could be due to the fact that Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union just one month before it was scheduled to return.
The Winter War raged until March 1940 when a peace treaty was signed that forced Finland to make substantial land concessions to the Soviets.
Strand stated: “The return of the book might not have been the first thing on the borrower’s mind when the due date approached.
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“Usually these kinds of loans, returned decades after the due date, are found when people go through deceased relatives’ belongings.”
Strand added that the “borrower with a bad memory was a businessman from Pursimiehenkatu” in Helsinki, as reported by What’s the Jam.
One local commented: “A book so good the reader couldn’t put it down for the rest of his life!”
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Another said: “The Winter War is a valid reason for the delay.”
Larissa wrote: “Wow, what a journey, what a story!”
Penelope remarked: “I hope the book continues its life somewhere, it would be so sad if its useful life ended here.”
