A Novel Borrowed in 1939 Returned After 84 Years... What About the Late Fee?

Arthur Conan Doyle's Novel Returned After 84 Years
"Likely No Time to Return the Book Due to the War"

A novel by British mystery writer Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, was returned to a library in Finland after 84 years.

On the 31st of last month (local time), CNN reported that a Finnish translation of Doyle's novel "The Refugees," which had been borrowed by someone in 1939, was returned late to the Helsinki Central Library.

Inside the back cover of the returned book was a library loan card, with a due date of December 27, 1939. The library stated that the returned book is in good enough condition to be loaned out again.

Based on the loan card, staff speculated that a businessman living in the Pursimiehenkatu area of Helsinki borrowed the book in 1939. However, the relationship between the person who returned the book and the original borrower has not been identified.

The translated version of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "The Refugees" returned after 84 years [Image source=Captured from the Instagram of Helsinki Central Library, Finland]

CNN suggested that the delay in returning the book might be related to the "Winter War," when the Soviet Union invaded Finland during World War II. The Winter War lasted from November 30, 1939, to March 13, 1940.

Heini Strand, a librarian at the library, said, "The war started just one month before the due date," and added, "Borrowers probably had no capacity to think about returning books."

She continued, "Sometimes books come back after several decades, often found among the belongings of deceased persons by family or friends," and added, "This book might be one of those cases."

Meanwhile, the maximum overdue fine at Helsinki Central Library is 6 euros (about 9,000 won). However, the library explained that no overdue fine will be charged for this returned Doyle novel because so much time has passed that there is no overdue record in the library system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.