<b>A noble Suffolk family has been hit with a world-record £25,000 fine after an overdue library book was found below the floorboards of their former historic home.</b>

Builders found the dusty romantic novel during renovation work at Ipswich's prestigious Christchurch Mansion, and were amazed to see a library ticket attached to the inside cover with a required return date of May 5th, 1775.

They took the copy of Candide, written by saucy Frenchman Voltaire, to the nearby library in Northgate Street, where staff worked out that they were due a £25,000 library fine because the book was 240 years late.

<center><a href="http://www.suffolkgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/candide-book.jpeg"><img src="http://www.suffolkgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/candide-book.jpeg" alt="voltaire" width="480" height="317" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1704" /></a></center><center><i>The book with Voltaire's portrait found in Ipswich</center></i><br><br>

"We are very keen to get the late-return fee," a librarian whispered from the reception desk. "Who knows how many people have come here over the years but left disappointed because the book was 'out'?

"We have contacted the Fonnereau family, who owned the house at the time the book was lent out, and asked for the money, although we have offered to allow staggered payments of £5 a month to make things easier."

Claude Fonnereau purchased the Tudor mansion, situated in Christchurch Park, in 1734, and if he were still alive he would surely regret becoming a member of the local library.

A family spokesman said: "They can not prove it was us who hired the book from the library. There is every chance it was a servant, so we don't think we'll be paying."

<center><div class="getty embed image" style="background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;"><div style="overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:53.030303% 0 0 0;width:100%;"><iframe src="//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/147903779?et=xY7rePrVT4h2bgGvkfdwug&viewMoreLink=on&sig=h5ijpipXORbLAfhNd_BZ6-HxLd423EDfrfYwpBzOqnA=" width="594" height="315" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></div><p style="margin:0;"></p><div style="padding:0;margin:0 0 0 10px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/147903779" target="_blank" style="color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;">View image</a> | <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com" target="_blank" style="color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;">gettyimages.com</a></div></div></center><center><i>Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich</center></i><br><br>

Like us on Facebook: <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden; height: 21px;" src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsuffolkgazette&amp;width&amp;layout=button_count&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=false&amp;share=true&amp;height=21" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<a href="http://www.suffolkgazette.com/buy-us-a-beer/">Buy us a beer (please)!</a>