Mortimer Blackley, assistant editor at the small publishing company ‘The House Of Marvellous Books’ has taken it upon himself to keep a log of what may be the final days of the business. This epistolary novel features his daily musings, along with his records of the antics of his colleagues and their eccentric clients. There is the battle between editors Drusilla and Fay, who love to disagree on anything, from the books the company should publish to whether the mysterious “Daybright Manuscript” exists somewhere in the old library. The search for this priceless artefact is a thread through the novel as it could be the thing to save the house from bankruptcy – or they could allow the shady Russian buyers to be their saving grace. Except no-one (or so Mortimer thinks) can put their finger on why the Russians are interested in a small, London publisher whose only really successful author is a sailing Bishop. KM

Fairlight Books