The Tyranny of Lost Things

The Tyranny of Lost Things, a tale which will resonate with the millennial generation. Having dropped out of university, Harmony returns to the site of the urban commune where she lived as a child, now divided into flats. She rents a room in the hope of uncovering the source of her nightmares about a redheaded woman who haunts the house and, her obsession with lost objects from her childhood. As the London riots explode in the streets, the two hot summers converge, blurred by the drugs and sex and cheap wine, and Harmony begins to discover what really happened at Longhope twenty years ago. Can she grow up at last, and build her own future?

“'Combining an intriguing mystery with political scrutiny, Cosslett reveals how four walls can mean so much more than bricks and mortar.”

‘Combining an intriguing mystery with political scrutiny, Cosslett reveals how four walls can mean so much more than bricks and mortar.

‘Set in 2011 and the 1980s, [Rhiannon's] excellent début novel tells the edgy and compelling story of Harmony.’

‘A brave, beautiful, coming of age novel - full of generational conflict, trauma, and Bohemianism. Truly a writer to watch.’

‘Surprising and keenly observed, this is an original contemporary presentation of London: nostalgic but also brutal, with deft and poignant cultural comparisons. A jagged, bold, time-twisting dazzler!’

‘An elegiac intergenerational howl that answers boldly back to its literary parents. Cosslett’s talent for social commentary continues to arraign and amuse in this boozy tainted love-song to London.’

‘The Tyranny of Lost Things is a hazy, evocative novel about place and belonging and a beautiful love letter to London in the summer’

‘Cosslett paints a portrait of millennial London, contrasted with the idealism of Harmony's bohemian parents... Compelling.’

‘I absolutely loved it and cannot recommend it enough, especially for fans of Ali Smith.’

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a columnist, feature writer and editor for the Guardian newspaper, contributing mainly to Opinion and Features sections, and the Weekend magazine. In 2012 she co-founded the Vagenda, a funny feminist blog which was published in book form by Vintage. In 2014 Rhiannon was short-listed for a press award for young journalist of the year. As a freelancer she has written for publications as wide ranging as Elle, Stylist, the New Statesman, The Independent and Time. She has extensive radio experience, having appeared on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and the Today programme.

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