The Forgotten Reader: A Tale of Overdue Books and Cultural Amnesia The recent return of "Antiquities of Athens" to the Kiama Library, more than 150 years after it was borrowed, is a fascinating story that highlights both the quirks of our ancestors' behavior and the enduring power of literature.
The book had been bricked into a fireplace for decades, only to be rediscovered by a local resident who assumed it belonged to his great great grandfather.
In the 1870s, when this book was borrowed from Kiama Library, rules were strict, and borrowing privileges were often tied to social status and literacy levels.