Lost literary work

A lost work is a document or literary work produced some time in the past of which no surviving copies are known to exist. Works may be lost to history either through the destruction of the original manuscript, or through the non-survival of any copies of the work. Deliberate destruction of works may be termed literary crime or literary vandalism.

The term is most commonly applied to works from the classical world, although it is increasingly used in relation to more modern works.

Notable lost works

Classical world

Naupactia, a Greek epic poem.
The Progeny, a Greek tragedy by Sophocles.
On Sphere-Making by Archimedes.
De arte alea by Claudius.
Margites by Homer.
Successions of Philosophers by Alexander Polyhistor.
The six lost works of the Trojan War cycle: Aithiopis, Iliou persis, Kypria, the Little Iliad, Nostoi, and Telegony.
The Theban cycle: Oidipodeia, Thebaid, Epigonoi, and Alkmeonis.
Various works by Marcus Terentius Varro: Saturarum Menippearum libri CL (Menippean Satires in 150 books), Antiquatatum rerum humanarum et divinarum libri XLI, Logistoricon libri LXXVI, Hebdomades vel de imaginibus, Disciplinarum libri IX

Early religious texts

Arzhang, the holy book of Manichaeism.
Classic of Music by Confucius.
Hexapla, a compilation of the Old Testament by Origen.
Book of the wars of the Lord, referenced in the Hebrew Bible.
Sefer haYashar, referenced in the Hebrew Bible.
Q document, a hypothetical New Testament Gospel source text.

Books lost from the New Testament apocrypha

14th century

Inventio Fortunata - a 14th century description of the geography of the North Pole.
Of the Wreched Engendrynge of Mankynde, Origenes upon the Maudeleyne, and The book of the Leoun - three works by Geoffrey Chaucer.

15th century

16th century

Cardenio - a lost play by William Shakespeare.
Love's Labour's Won - a lost play by William Shakespeare.
Maya codices ceremonially destroyed by Diego de Landa (1524-1579), bishop of Yucatán, on 12 July 1562. At least 27 codices and approximately 5,000 Mayan "idols" were burnt.

17th century

18th century

19th century

Memoirs of Lord Byron - destroyed by his literary executors led by John Murray on 17 May 1824. The decision was made to destroy Byron's manuscript journals in order to protect his reputation. Opposed only by Thomas Moore, the two volumes of memoirs were dismembered and burnt in the fireplace at Murray's office.
The Scented Garden by Sir Richard Francis Burton - manuscript of a new translation from Arabic of The Perfumed Garden, was burnt by his widow, Lady Isabel Burton née Arundel, along with other papers.
Parts two and three of Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol - burnt by Gogol at the instigation of the priest Father Matthew Konstantinovskii.
Large sections of Lewis Carroll's diary, destroyed by his family for reasons frequently debated.

20th century

"Text I" of Seven Pillars of Wisdom - a 250,000 word manuscript lost at Reading railway station by T. E. Lawrence in December 1919.
The Irish Public Records Office in Dublin - burnt by the IRA in 1922, destroying 1,000 years of state and religious archives.

Diaries of Philip Larkin - burnt at his request after his death on 2 December 1985. Other private papers were kept, contrary to his instructions.

External links

This literature-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.