// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Library books overdue by 116 years returned in 'excellent condition'
Peter found the books - originally borrowed "for one week" - and returned them 116 years later
A man has returned his late grandfather's library books which were overdue by 116 years.
Peter O'Sullivan's grandfather, Walter Griffith Owen, took out Milton's Paradise Lost and Shakespeare's King Lear in 1910.
A note inside showed they came from former Llanrwst Reading Room & Library in Conwy county, and were originally "lent for one week".
The note continued that should a book "be required for a second week, application should be made to the caretaker. Fee, one penny per week".
Peter said he was initially concerned about a possible fine, as they had been on loan for in excess of 6,000 weeks.
There were 12 pennies in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound before decimalisation in 1971.
The lost books were found among Peter's late grandfather's possessions, at his mother's home
Peter returned them to Llanrwst library but admitted when he got there he "did wonder about the fine".
"I had worked out how much I would have owed in old pennies as a couple of hundred pounds," he explained.