Charles Dickens’ desk, which he used to write A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, has been sold for £433,250 (about $850,000) – not quite the deal you’d expect for used furniture.

The mid-Victorian mahogany desk and walnut chair were sold at Christie's auction house, and the money will go to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, which was founded by a friend of Dickens.

While the desk set was expected to sell for between £50,000 and £80,000 ($100,000-$160,000), bidding turned “extremely fierce,” BBC reported. Irish collector and tarot card tycoon Tom Higgins had the winning bid, but has no plans to craft anything more than a letter or two on the desk.

If you’re looking for a place to write your great work, you don’t have to shell out a fortune. Skip Christie’s and check out Jordan’s, which has plenty of desks for sale that give off that same retro vibe.