Library book returned to British school 120 years late

HEREFORD, England, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A long overdue library book was returned to a British school nearly 12 decades after it was originally checked out.

Professor Arthur Boycott, a former student who attended Hereford Cathedral School from 1886 to 1894, checked out "The Microscope and its Revelations" by Dr William B. Carpenter and kept it until it was discovered by his granddaughter Alice Gillett 120 years later.

"I can't imagine how the school has managed without it!" Gillett said.

She told the school she found the book among 6,000 others, as she sorted through them following the death of her husband.

Gillett says she believed the book served her grandfather well, as he eventually graduated first in his class in Natural Science, became a distinguished naturalist and pathologist and published his first paper listing which snail species were found in Herefordshire at age 15.

"My grandmother said he always had snails in his pockets," Gillet said.

A school spokesperson told The Guardiann Gillet was lucky her grandfather borrowed the book from the school, as they do not charge late fees to students.

"We don't want to put them off borrowing books," the spokesperson said. "Our pupils are really, really good at bringing them back."

The school estimated if the book had been borrowed from Hereford Library, the fine would have been $9,351.