Collection of letters written by the British poet Lord Byron to his a close friend, were sold at Thursday’s auction. An anonymous buyer paid 277,250 pounds (455,000 U.S. dollars) to get them, which was a lot higher price than expected, said Sotheby's.

Byron's letters to a friend named Francis Hodgson, who later ordained, date from the 1808 until the 1821. At auction in London Sotheby's, they were originally expected to fetch between 150,000 and 180,000.

Seventy-one pages of letters, containing many unpublished fragments, are considered the most important collection of poet’s letters sold in the past 30 years.

Byron, who is known for his love adventures with women, men and even members of his family, sent one of his letters from Portugal. In that letter he refers to William Wordsworth as "Turdsworth" and describes his love adventures with a Portuguese housekeeper.

Letters come from the library of the former Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, who bought the letters in 1885 and kept them in his home. George Gordon Byron died in Greece in 1824. He was 36 at the time.