Dirty letter brings an obscene price

He raised eyebrows in literary circles with the racy content of his novels.

Now James Joyce has entered the record books thanks to an obscene love letter to his girlfriend.

His missive, which sold for a record £240,800 at auction, graphically details his lust for future wife Nora Barnacle.

It was written in the winter of 1909 after the Ulysees author returned to Dublin without her for the first time since they eloped to Italy five years earlier.

It testifies to Joyce's 'ungovernable lust' and describes the numerous and varied ways in which he wished to satisfy his desires.

Joyce, who calls Nora a ' strangeeyed whore' in the letter, concludes his obscene flight of fancy with a more gentlemanly sign-off: 'Heaven forgive my madness, Jim.'

The letter, bought by an unnamed bidder, fetched the highest ever price for a 20th century autographed letter, Sotheby's in London said.

Together with other letters and Joyce memorabilia, the sale made a total of £721,620.

Peter Selley, the English literature specialist at Sotheby's, said: 'The high price reflects the importance of the couple's relationship.

'It was the source of so much of Joyce's creativity.'

The collection, formerly owned by Joyce's brother Stanislaus, included one of the earliest presentation copies of Ulysses. Joyce's own proof-sheets for the abandoned 1910 edition of his book Dubliners also went under the hammer.