Serrell is laugh-out-loud funny about human greed and eccentricity: there's the man who amassed a huge collection of Kilner Jars, the total value of which came to £20. And the dealer who turned up for a bankruptcy sale expecting cheap vats of sweets, only to discover what was on offer were 850 three-piece suites. I winced to learn about the occasional accident — somebody once paid a mint for a pair of Regency glass candlesticks, placed them in the boot of his car, slammed the lid down, snapping them clean in half: 'The symmetry of the break was almost perfect.'
