By fire, thievery and genuine misplacement, throughout history the works of some of the world’s literary greats have been lost forever.

Sylvia Plath’s incomplete sequel to The Bell Jar, was mysteriously lost after her death. Lord Byron’s possibly scandalous diaries were also lost by burning at the hands of his executors, disallowing the world from ever discovering the salacious stories of the literary rebel. Thomas Hardy wrote his first novel in 1867, a politically controversial tale which never attracted a publisher. Following the advice of a friend, Hardy burned the pages, losing another story forever.