The £103,000 fireproof book

An ‘unburnable’ edition of Margaret Atwood’s bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale has sold at auction for £103,000.

In a promotional video, the Canadian author, 82, donned black safety gloves and blasted the book with a flamethrower to test its resistance. The one-of-akind copy went under the hammer to raise funds for PEn America, a non-profit organisation which promotes freedom of speech. All proceeds will go to its mission to combat book banning and gag orders in American schools.

The book was sold at Sotheby’s in new York. Following the sale, Atwood said: ‘Free speech issues are being hotly debated, and PEn is a sane voice amidst all the shouting. We hope it raises awareness and leads to reasoned discussion.’

The 1985 dystopian novel has been banned in many schools in the US for more than 30 years.