Inside London's Finest Bookshops
As temperatures rise across this green and pleasant land and mercury goes into retrograde, you may find yourself in need of quiet solace. Where better, than amongst the shaded interiors of one of London’s best bookshops?
For me, July signals the true beginning of summer. Plucking strawberries from punnets and listening to the schlock, schlock of Wimbledon highlights, all the while endeavouring to remember to water the garden. As London’s pavements fill with visitors, eager to explore the city’s museums and galleries, why not escape the bustle, and seek-out the quiet but inviting interiors of a good bookshop?
From the oak staircases of Hatchard’s, to the contemporary, feminine style of Persephone Books, London is awash with quiet enclaves, all dedicated to the written word. Down shaded side streets, with their low lighting and corner armchairs, here are some favourites to soothe the spirit on a searing summer day.
The exterior of Hatchard’s on Piccadilly
Hatchards
Occupying pride-of-place on Piccadilly, beside Fortnum & Mason, London’s oldest bookseller affords a refined experience. Beyond it’s paned-glass windows are shelved an impressive array of signed copies and first editions across four floors. Founded with a warrant from George III in 1797, it is a quintessentially British shop, where HRH Queen Elizabeth still holds an account. If you’re heading off by rail this summer, be sure to stop in at their St Pancras Station branch before boarding.
For your library: Signed coffee table tomes such as James Stourton’s Great Houses Of London.
187 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J;
The London Review Bookshop
Situated in a side street just a Rosetta Stone’s throw from the British Museum, the London Review Bookshop is home to an impressive 20,000 titles. Owned by The London Review of Books magazine, it is a bookshop for grown ups and a staunch favourite of the literati. With interiors designed by Amanda Culpin of utility, it is a serene space with an excellent cake shop, serving a selection of fresh bakes each day - best enjoyed in the dappled shade of the rear courtyard.
For your shelves: A short novella to enjoy with your tea, such as A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr.
14-16 Bury Pl, London WC1A
Persephone Books
Named after Zeus’s daughter, Persephone Books {and publisher} is a mecca for creative women. Producing stylish editions of out-of-print novels by 20th-century female writers, from the journals of Katherine Mansfield to Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. The shop itself is a treat, occupying a Grade II-listed building on Lamb’s Conduit Street, where the facade is painted ‘Persephone grey’ and there is a quiet basement to retreat to.
For your library: With their stylish grey covers and vibrant linings, the editions make perfect gifts - especially for yourself on an off-day.
59 Lamb's Conduit St, London WC1N
The interior of Persephone Books
Daunt Books, Marylebone
Set in a beautiful Edwardian building on Marylebone High Street, the original Daunt Books occupies a premises first built for antiquarian booksellers Francis Edwards in 1910. Featuring a long gallery with oak balconies, and stained-glass window, all books are arranged by country, with destination guides positioned alongside literature from that region. Each branch of Daunt has its own charm, but the original shop is our favourite.
For your library: Inspirational travel guides coupled with a novel set in your next travel stop, try The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and its Citrus Fruit by Helena Atlee, popped into one of their enviable canvas tote bags.
83-84 Marylebone High Street, London W1U
John Sandoe
Tucked away on a side street in Chelsea, this beautiful three-storey Chelsea stalwart greets visitors with blooming window boxes on the first floor, and inside every available surface groans beneath hote-off-the-press hardbacks and heaped up novellas - making it impossible to leave empty-handed. Publishing an authoritative quarterly catalogue of recommended new titles, the shop has a loyal following and - according to Britsh Vogue - counts Sir Elton John as a customer.
For your library: The beautiful Everyman volumes of P G Wodehouse, sewn and bound, with fine covers by Andrzej Klimowski.
10 Blacklands Terrace, London, SW3
John Sandoe’s is also a dream on a rainy Thursday
Word on The Water
Perhaps the most unusual of all London’s bookshops, is the 100-year-old Dutch barge moored on Regent’s Canal. Known as The London Bookbarge, this floating shop in King’s Cross sells both new and quality second-hand books, hosting regular readings, poetry slams, and live jazz nights atop its ‘roof stage’ and enticing passers-by with its inviting wood-burning stove once autumn arrives.
For your library: Missing Penguin Classics for your collection, unexpected out-of-print paperbacks, but also to meet fellow readers.
York Way, Granary Square, N1C 4LW {feel free to telephone before you visit: 07976 886982}
The Floating Bookstore in King’s X
Nomad Books
Rivalling Amazon with its next-day order service, Nomad is a popular resident in its leafy neighbourhood of Fulham. Bright and airy inside, with creaking wooden floorboards, recommendations are neatly laid-out with handwritten reviews by the staff - who love nothing more than matchmaking customers with inspiring reads. The extensive children’s section is furnished with comfortable sofas and every Thursday afternoon plays host to Story Time.
For your library: Telephone or email with your summer reading list, and if they already don’t have it, every title will be ready for you by the following day.
781 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5HA
Books for Cooks
Co-owner Eric Treuillé works on the premise that there’s nothing like trying before you buy, as he serves-up delicious recipes from the tiny kitchen at the back of this specialist cookbook shop. Cooking solely from books available in-store, the menu comprises set dishes – until it comes to pudding, when there’s an array of must-try cakes (lemon victoria sponge, raspberry and pear, or chocolate and orange cake). The standard of cooking is high and with no bookings taken, regulars are often to be spotted patiently loitering to secure a table for lunch in the tiny café.
For your library: Garner inspiration for your next dinner party, or better still watch resident Italian cook Ursula Ferrigno, in action, as she prepares dishes from newly released cookbooks (booking required).
4 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, London W11 1NN
Maison Assouline
Described by Town & Country magazine as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, Maison Assouline’s London pad is part bookstore, part museum and part cabinet of curiosities. Housed within a former bank building designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, its 1920s architecture and Assouline’s stylish coffee table books stacked floor-to-ceiling give the sense of entering the library of a noble European family.
Carefully-curated gifts are displayed alongside the titles and accessories for your library, and the first floor houses a collection of stylish furniture. Beneath the wooden steps - used to reach the ceiling-height shelves - is Swans Bar, the Parisian-style bar, which offers the perfect spot to peruse titles and enjoy this grandeuse setting.
For your library: Conjure the pleasure of reading even when you’re doing housework, with the Paper Library Candle with its base notes of clove and vanilla to remind you of those leather bindings and crisp pages.
Keep cool and read on xx
Maison Assouline, image courtesy of Olivia Castellini
