Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with little more than a love of books and eagerness to explore the city she's read so much about. She begins her search for independence with appealing enthusiasm, and the moment she steps into the Arcade bookstore, she knows she has found a home. The gruff owner, Mr. Pike, gives her a job sorting through piles of books and helping the rest of the staff, a group as odd as the characters in a Dickens novel. But when a letter arrives from someone seeking to "place" a lost manuscript by Herman Melville, the simmering ambitions and rivalries of the Arcade staff rise to a boiling point. The Secret of Lost Things is at once a literary adventure and an evocative portrait of life in a bookstore very reminiscent of the world-famous Strand. Part 01 - Chapter 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Part 02 - Chapter 07 Chapter 08 Chapter 09 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Part 03 - Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Part 04 - Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 "Hay's writing is lively and relaxed…the best way for a novelist to celebrate books is to write a good one. And The Secret of Lost Things is just that." "Hay does a good job with innocent, intelligent Rosemary's attempts to deal with sinister doings and…captures Rosemary's nostalgic memories of Tasmania…" "Benjamin's clear, luminous voice draws listeners in, adding a touch of mystery to this appealing audio." "Rosemary's journey from naiveté to self-knowledge is realistically portrayed and compelling, as are Hay's loving depictions of 1980s-era New York City and the wonder of a young woman discovering it for the first time." "A triangle of unrequited love and a tussle over an apocryphal Melville manuscript enliven Hay's bildungsroman."
