They exist as a rumour or a fading memory. They vanished from history leaving scarcely a trace, lost to fire, censorship, theft, war or deliberate destruction, yet those who seek them are convinced they will find them. This is the story of one man's quest for eight mysterious lost books. Taking us from Florence to Regency London, the Russian Steppe to British Columbia, Giorgio van Straten unearths stories of infamy and tragedy, glimmers of hope and bitter twists of fate. There are, among others, the rediscovered masterpiece that he read but failed to save from destruction; the Hemingway novel that vanished in a suitcase at the Gare du Lyon; the memoirs of Lord Byron, burnt to avoid a scandal; the Magnum Opus of Bruno Schulz, disappeared along with its author in wartime Poland; the mythical Sylvia Plath novel that may one day become reality. As gripping as a detective novel, as moving as an elegy, this is the tale of a love affair with the impossible, of the things that slip away from us but which, sometimes, live again in the stories we tell.

"It's clear that Van Straten still searches for lost books, even as he recognises the futility of it. He likens the search to his childhood notions of the quest, to his longing to be 'the hero who will be able to solve the mystery" - Guardian

"I read it all in a single, enchanted sitting" - The Bookseller (Editor's Choice)

"Charming, curious little volume... van Straten winningly demonstrates how these books 'come back to life in us'" - Country Life

"Brilliant... a little masterpiece" - Guardian, Books of the Year

"Engaging, instructive and entertaining" - Shiny New Books

"Fascinating... succinct and engaging" - Never Imitate (blog)

"Delightful and absorbing... a little gem of a collection; recommended reading for any curious bibliophile" - The National

"In Search of Lost Books presents a private view of lost masterpieces, a particularly eloquent, lightly philosophical display of select, exceptional absences... a rewardingly, reassuringly old-fashioned quest" - Bookanista

"Charming" - Boundless

"Captivating from cover to cover, highly recommended" - Midwest Book Review

"A captivating little book" - Fine Books Magazine

"The ideal companion for a short flight or train journey... It reminds us that life, and all that we leave behind, is essentially ephemeral" - World Literature Today