A rare collection of books including Charles Dickens works will be auctioned in Edinburgh this and is expected to fetch as much as $353,000.

A first edition of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is among a rare collection of books belonging to the late Stirling-born English teacher Bruce Ritchie. The entire collection will be put for sale at an auction to be held in Edinburgh later this week. The value of the collection is estimated to be approximately $353,000.

Apart from the prestigious Dickens' edition, the collection also includes the first editions of Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited," with a note signed by the author and F Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."

Fitzgerald's book, which has recently been adapted into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio is predicted to fetch $1,075, which James Joyce's "Ulysses" is expected to fetch $460. The collection also includes the first edition of the children's classic "The Wind in the Willows."

Richie was a student of Dollar Academy in Clackmannanshire and also studied English and German at St Andrews University. Once he finished with his studies, he took up a post at Merchant Taylors' School in London, where he was described as an "inspirational" teacher.

He passed away in Sterling last October and his collection of rare books is now being auctioned by Lyon and Turnbull.

"It is astonishing that a private collector could assemble this kind of collection, particularly relying chiefly on a school teacher's salary," John Sibbald, book specialist at the auctioneers, said. "For me the outstanding items in the sale include the collection of works by Alexander Pope, Seamus Heaney, Tom Stoppard and the works of Yeats. The run of publications from the Cuala Press, the press established by Yeats' sisters, also spring to mind."