Did you ever wonder how late is too late? Well, this story has quite the humor around lateness. One woman returned a library book that was 90 years overdue after finding it in her stepfather's belongings while cleaning out his estate in Virginia.
Youth and Two Other Stories by Joseph Conrad was checked out from the Larchmont Public Library in New York on October 11, 1933, by Jimmie Ellis, who has since died. Upon finding the book in his belongings, the stepdaughter mailed it back in to return it.
“Now, I know what you are all thinking,” the public library wrote in a Facebook post. “I wonder how much that would be in overdue fees? At twenty cents a day, it seems like the fine could easily have reached over $6,400.” Surprisingly, however, the late fee was only $5!
The stepdaughter, Morgan, wrote a letter explaining the backstory. "My stepfather, Jimmie Ellis (James H.S. Ellis, Jr. 1893 – 1978), was an advertising executive, working in New York City and living in Larchmont at the time he and his first wife were raising their two sons. Their house was about two blocks from Larchmont Public Library. And since Jimmie, a writer and avid reader himself, no doubt encouraged his boys to read, they most likely borrowed books from Larchmont Public on a regular basis."
More from LittleThings: Why 'Goodnight Moon' Was Kept Off New York Public Library Shelves For 25 Years
People in the comments found the story hilarious.
"The way that I would have lost it after 2 years and they kept it for 90 ," someone wrote.
"Oh my goodness that book has a lotta of history that hasn't been heard lol," commented someone else.
