In an auction, a copy of "The Stranger" by Albert Camus was purchased for 656,000 euros.
In April 1940, a manuscript was created, but based on expert judgments, it was obtained two years after the release of the novel in 1942. It's possible that Camus penned it on behalf of a well-to-do literary aficionado, as his funds were running low at the time. The numerous inconsistencies with another preserved manuscript, as well as the amusing doodles by the writer on the edges, hint at this. As the auction catalog detailed, "The history of the manuscript remains a mystery."
The manuscript switched hands in 1958 and 1991 during auctions. Originally, "The Stranger" had a print run of 4400 copies, but following WWII, it soon became a thriving bestseller.
The opening line of the main character Meursault, a French resident in Algeria who shot an Arab for inexplicable motives, reads, "Today my mother has died. Or maybe yesterday, I'm not sure."
