Bartholomew is an orphan from Bombay. He's twelve years old and speaks almost as many languages. That is why, in the year 1854, he is hired as a translator by the brothers Schlagintweit from Germany who, with the support of Alexander von Humboldt and the East India Company, embark upon the greatest expedition of their time, which takes them across India and the Himalayas.

But Bartholomew is also pursuing his own agenda: he wants to establish the first museum of his remarkable, complex native land. And for this, he is willing to risk everything - even his life.

Based on the true story of a huge scientific undertaking by three Bavarian brothers, and brilliantly translated by Rekha Kamath Rajan, Christopher Kloeble's The Museum of the World is a fantastic adventure that will change the way we see the history of colonialism.