The Museum of Things Left Behind

The Museum of Things Left Behind
Seni Glaister

Escape into this hugely enjoyable, big-hearted and beautifully written novel, set in Vallerosa, a European country you’ve never heard of before.FIND YOURSELF IN VALLEROSA, A PLACE LOST IN TIMEVallerosa is every tourist’s dream – a tiny, picturesque country surrounded by lush valleys and verdant mountains; a place sheltered from modern life and the rampant march of capitalism. But in isolation, the locals have grown cranky, unfulfilled and disaffected. In the Presidential Palace hostile Americans, wise to the country’s financial potential, are circling like sharks …Can the town be fixed? Can the local bar owners be reconciled? Can an unlikely visitor be the agent of change and rejuvenation this broken idyll is crying out for?Full of wisdom, humour and light, THE MUSEUM OF THINGS LEFT BEHIND is a heart-warming fable for our times that asks us to consider what we have lost and what we have gained in modern life. A book about bureaucracy, religion and the people that really get things done, it is above all else a hymn to the inconstancy of time and the pivotal importance of a good cup of tea.

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Copyright (#u3c792d31-806d-5bdc-a81f-be19d4816de8)

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.4thestate.co.uk (http://www.4thestate.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by Fourth Estate 2015

Copyright © Seni Glaister 2015

Seni Glaister asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record of this book is

available from the British Library.

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Source ISBN: 9780008118952

Ebook Edition © May 2015 ISBN: 9780008118969

Version: 2016-05-11

Dedication (#u3c792d31-806d-5bdc-a81f-be19d4816de8)

For my brave and brilliant father

Prof. David Glaister

Contents

Cover (#u14a9dd57-899a-5d52-85bc-6301fa4030c6)

Title Page (#ulink_5eea1263-e0ed-580b-a95a-875da9669af3)

Copyright (#ulink_072ad3cd-847b-5922-b5fe-253c31a9d96d)

Dedication (#ulink_4896e001-769d-56b0-95c3-1070d118b181)

The Characters (#ulink_6236b6fe-09c9-57f5-9f15-c1f8d5b264b8)

Epigraph (#ulink_7340f4a9-00b0-5f53-a00c-170aa2c514fa)

1 In Which a Letter Stands Out (#ulink_b400fe37-20fb-585f-bbfc-2c4320c4ed43)

2 In Which Treason Is Narrowly Avoided (#ulink_8ad05124-753a-53a4-91c1-32389310ac4a)

3 In Which a Formal Communication From a Foreign Entity Is Delivered (#ulink_023f86bd-1b84-5529-bfff-95b1ec8fcd0b)

4 In Which News Travels Fast (#ulink_21650b73-5c76-54aa-a35f-88d9e25463db)

5 In Which a President Addresses His Nation (#ulink_55198b74-1216-5ff9-981a-51cd1e9a7cc1)

6 In Which Enough Tea Is Grown (#ulink_af6be4af-9fd0-5039-a44c-972ccd47ea7c)

7 In Which the President Has Doubt (#ulink_297d3ac9-45ff-54a5-bb9e-126be893ccb3)

8 In Which a Protestation Is Made (#ulink_7efe668f-571e-5041-be5a-bed90d524255)

9 In Which PEGASUS Has Her Wings Clipped (#ulink_e62ccd2b-a975-5767-80fd-1a7390d4088a)

10 In Which a Royal Visitor Arrives (#ulink_48ed5eb1-4a85-5ca4-aab3-b738f151a25b)

11 In Which Plan B Might Work (#litres_trial_promo)

12 In Which the British Visitor Is Made to Feel at Home (#litres_trial_promo)

13 In Which the Visitor Goes Exploring (#litres_trial_promo)

14 In Which Tourism and Recreation Go into Battle (#litres_trial_promo)

15 In Which the President Loses His Cool (#litres_trial_promo)

16 In Which the Dancing Begins (#litres_trial_promo)

17 In Which the Visitor Gets a Lesson in Timekeeping (#litres_trial_promo)

18 In Which Lizzie Makes a Bedside Visit (#litres_trial_promo)

19 In Which the Curiosities Are Examined (#litres_trial_promo)

20 In Which Lizzie Exerts Some Power (#litres_trial_promo)

21 In Which the Americans Play Ball (#litres_trial_promo)

22 In Which the Visitor Gets Down to Business (#litres_trial_promo)

23 In Which the Purpose of Education Is Questioned (#litres_trial_promo)

24 In Which Lizzie Beats the System (#litres_trial_promo)

25 In Which Love Is the Answer (#litres_trial_promo)

26 In Which a Deal Is Done (#litres_trial_promo)

27 In Which the Piece Fits (#litres_trial_promo)

28 In Which There’s Education in Moderation (#litres_trial_promo)

29 In Which the Chief of Staff Plots (#litres_trial_promo)