Miniature Bible owned by the real-life Eleanor Rigby with her name written in pencil inside the front cover is discovered and thought to be worth £20,000
A miniature Bible owned by Eleanor Rigby - the star of the classic Beatles tune - has been put on sale for the first time. The piece of pop memorabilia, which bears the signature of the so-called 'lonely woman' Rigby, is expected to fetch as much as £20,000 at auction thanks to its connection with the song's mysterious central figure. Rigby died in 1939, long before the Beatles had formed, but her grave stands in a Liverpool ceremony where John Lennon and Paul McCartney used to meet and compose songs.
McCartney has claimed that the song was not an intentional reference to the woman - whose name he invented for the purposes of the song. But he admits the name could have ended up in the back of his mind after spending time near the headstone at St Peter's church in Woolton, and made its way into musical history from there.
Rigby, held up in the 1966 song as an example of 'all the lonely people' had a life with similarities to the figure described in the song. She too could be classed as lonely, having been unmarried for most of her life. She married at the age of 35 - extremely late for the time - to a much older man and died less than ten years later. She never had children.
And she was clearly pious as well - as the pocket-sized Bible - just 3cm x 5cm - demonstrates. It bears her signature in pencil on the inside page, and is smudged from extensive use. A second signature of 'E.R Whitfield' - the surname of Eleanor Rigby's father - is further proof the small item belonged to the 'lonely woman'.
By: Kieran Corcoran
Source: Daily Mail
