The Hound in the Left-hand Corner

A Novel

Giles Waterfield

• Publisher: Washington Square Press
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN:
  9780743475532
• eBook ISBN:
  9781416580812
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

In this brilliantly witty satire -- a bestseller in the UK -- a prestigious British museum launches an ambitious new exhibit...which quickly becomes a seasonal nightmare.
Think that a day in the life of a London museum director is cold, quiet, and austere? Think again. Giles Waterfield brings a combination of intellectual comedy and knockabout farce to the subject in this story of one long day in a museum full of scandals, screw-upsŠand more than a few scalawags.
At the beginning of The Hound in the Left-hand Corner, Auberon, the brilliant but troubled director of the Museum of British History, is preparing one midsummer's day for the opening of the most spectacular exhibition his museum has ever staged. The centerpiece is a painting of the intriguing Lady St. John strikingly attired as Puck, which hasn't been shown in London in a hundred years. As the day passes, the portrait arouses disquieting questions, jealousies, rivalries -- and more than a few strange affections -- in the minds of the museum staff. As guests and employees pour in, the tension rises -- and Auberon himself has the hilariously ridiculous task of keeping the peace, without losing his own sense of reality as well.
For everyone who loves the farce of David Lodge and Michael Frayn, or even the Antiques Roadshow, the fast-paced, hilarious satire of The Hound in the Left-hand Corner is sure to delight and entertain.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• The Characters
• The Museum, 3 A.M.
• Gloucester Street, Pimlico, 7 A.M.
• Hay Hill, London W1, 7 A.M.
• Tradescant Road, South Lambeth, 7 A.M.
• Brit, 7:30 A.M.
• The Attendants’ Mess Room, 8 A.M.
• At the Museum, 9:15 A.M.
• Around London, 9:30 A.M.
• The Director’s Office, 10 A.M.
• The Premises of Angel Cooks, 9:30 A.M.
• The Director’s Office, 10 A.M.
• Great Hall, Morning
• Press View and Press Conference, 11:30 A.M.
• The Special Events Office, 10:30 A.M.
• Denzil Marten Galleries, St. James’s, Late Morning
• Great Hall, 12:10 P.M.
• The Boardroom, 12:25 P.M.
• The Museum Café, 1 P.M.
• Angel Cooks, 1:45 P.M.
• Jane’s Office, 2:15 P.M.
• The Boardroom, 2 P.M.
• The Exhibitions Office, 3:30 P.M.
• Gallery of Modern Technology, 4 P.M. Onward
• Gallery of Industrial Revolution and Great Hall, 4 P.M.
• Gallery of Modern Technology, 4 P.M.
• Control Room, 5 P.M.
• All Over London, 5:30 P.M. Onward
• Entrance Hall, 6:15 P.M.
• The Boardroom, 2 A.M.
• Around London, 3 A.M.
• Copyright