Unburnable copy of The Handmaid’s Tale fetches $130,000

The special edition of Margaret Atwood’s novel was auctioned by Sotheby’s and is made of Cinefoil, a treated aluminum product. A specially commissioned, unburnable edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been auctioned for $130,000, Sotheby’s announced on Tuesday.

Proceeds will be donated to PEN America, which advocates for free expression worldwide. The 384-page book consists mainly of Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum product, and was announced last month at PEN’S annual fundraising gala.

To help promote the initiative, Atwood agreed to be filmed attempting – unsuccessfully – to incinerate a prototype with a flame thrower. “I’m very pleased that the one-of-a-kind Unburnable Book of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ has raised so much money for PEN America,” the Canadian author said in a statement.

“Free speech issues are being hotly debated, and PEN is a sane voice amidst all the shouting. The video of the book being torched by me and refusing to burn has now had a potential 5bn views. We hope it raises awareness and leads to reasoned discussion.”

The fireproof book was a joint project by PEN, Atwood, Penguin Random House and two companies based in Toronto, where Atwood is a longtime resident: the Rethink creative agency and The Gas Company Inc, a graphic arts and bookbinding specialty studio. The Handmaid’s

Tale, first released in 1985, is a dystopian novel about a cruel patriarchy known as the Republic of Gilead. It has been subject to various bannings since publication.