London has always been a city of literary riches and its array of independent bookshops makes it even more of a draw for the bibliophile. Here are ten places where you can stock up on your winter reads while experiencing a slice of history, a taste of royalty or a touch of whimsy.
1. Daunt Books
Travel the world through its titles
Daunt Books is a destination bookstore in more than one sense. Its Marylebone flagship is a strong contender for the most beautiful bookshop in London, housed in a gorgeous Edwardian building with long oak galleries and lovely skylights.
Books there are sorted not by title or author, but by the country they are from or about – allowing readers to browse across the world.
What’s nearby: The Wallace Collection, a free museum in an 18th-century townhouse. The collection ranges from paintings like Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s rococo masterpiece The Swing to an astonishing selection of medieval weaponry.
Nearest Tube stops: Baker Street, Marylebone, Regent’s Park
2. Word on the Water
Books that float your boat
Moored on Regent’s Canal, near the train hub of King’s Cross and St. Pancras International, is Word on the Water, one of the most unusual and delightful bookshops you will ever see. Word on the Water is a 1920s Dutch barge packed bow to stern with new, secondhand and antiquarian books.
The booksellers have been known to bring their animal companions, such as a black cat called Ships who likes to sprawl on the gangplank. Live jazz and poetry readings are held on the top deck when the weather allows.
What’s nearby: Coal Drops Yard, a former coal transport hub since converted into an upscale shopping complex. Popular cafés Dishoom and Caravan have branches here.
Nearest Tube stop: King’s Cross
3. Hatchards
Titles fit for a king
The venerable Hatchards, established in 1797 in the heart of Piccadilly, is London’s oldest bookshop. It has boasted royal patronage since the Georgian era, counting among its first customers Queen Charlotte (lately fictionalised in the Netflix drama of the same name), and has held three Royal Warrants, including to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
One can spend hours browsing its wide range of titles – from children’s stories to limited edition art books – that are stacked across five storeys of shelves. One can also pick up signed editions of the latest book releases. It’s a great choice for Christmas shopping.
For further festive delight, Hatchards’ St Pancras branch has also contributed to a 12m-tall “Christmas tree” in St Pancras International station, which features 270 hand-painted books stacked in the shape of a tree. This sculpture furthermore has cosy nooks where travellers in transit can sit and listen to snatches of audiobooks.
What’s nearby: Burlington Arcade, an elegant 19th-century shopping arcade lined with luxury boutiques.
Nearest Tube stop: Piccadilly Circus
4. Shapero Rare Books
Hold a piece of history in your hands
Shopping for rare books can be a daunting experience – can you really just pick up that early edition of Sense and Sensibility worth thousands of pounds? – but even casual visitors will feel welcome at Shapero, an antiquarian and rare book dealer in Mayfair.
Treasures you might spy include exquisite Persian texts by poets Rumi and Hafez, or a splendid illustrated book on Rome by Italian architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi that once belonged to the King of Sweden.
What’s nearby: Mercato Mayfair, a food hall in a deconsecrated 19th-century church.
Nearest Tube stops: Bond Street, Oxford Circus
5. Libreria
Unplug in a Borgesian space
Nestled amid the bustling vintage markets and street food stalls of Brick Lane is Libreria, a sliver of a bookstore that looks larger than it is, thanks to its mirrored surfaces and undulating, nook-filled walls. The space, designed by Spanish architects SelgasCano, evokes the labyrinths of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, whose short story “The Library of Babel” inspired the bookshop.
Where the library of Borges’ story threatened to overwhelm through infinite choice, Libreria prides itself on its selective curation and its atmosphere of serendipitous discovery.
It is, notably, a no-phone space; patrons are gently requested to set aside their devices and browse without distraction.
What’s nearby: The vintage markets of Brick Lane – hit up the one in the basement of the Truman Brewery for some choice gems.
Nearest Tube stops: Shoreditch High Street, Aldgate East
6. The London Review Bookshop (LRB)
Cachet plus café
The LRB, opened 20 years ago by the distinguished literary magazine London Review of Books, is an intellectual’s bookshop. It is very much in the spirit of Bloomsbury, a neighbourhood once inhabited by such illustrious authors as Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Its author events are highly sought after – recent sold-out evenings have featured the likes of Zadie Smith and Claudia Rankine. Devour titles over tea and cake at the café attached to the bookshop.
What’s nearby: Sir John Soane’s Museum, an eclectic museum in the house of a famous 18th-century architect.
Nearest Tube stops: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road
7. Jarndyce
An old curiosity bookshop
Entering this antiquarian bookshop is like stepping into a Charles Dickens novel, and indeed it takes its name from an interminable court case in the Dickensian classic Bleak House. Jarndyce was established in 1969, but the building it occupies – right across from the British Museum – dates back to the 18th century.
It has been a bookshop since at least 1890, when Dutch booksellers Luzac & Co moved in. The illustrator Randolph Caldecott also lived here in the 1870s.
As befits its name, Jarndyce specialises in 19th-century English literature and history, from classic tomes to penny dreadfuls and broadsides.
What’s nearby: The Charles Dickens Museum, former home of the famed Victorian novelist who’s also amply stocked at Jarndyce.
Nearest Tube stops: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road
8. Marchpane
A magical walk down memory lane
This cheerful children’s bookshop is part of an eclectic community on Cecil Court, a narrow street that seems to have changed little since the Victorian era. Marchpane stocks collectible illustrated and children’s classics, including first editions from Harry Potter to Winnie-the-Pooh.
Sci-fi geeks take note: overlooking the bookshop’s comings and goings is an original 1970s Dalek from the set of the British show Doctor Who.
What’s nearby: Other charming Cecil Court booksellers: Marchpane’s neighbours include the Travis & Emery Music Bookshop, which specialises in out-of-print and antiquarian music, and Alice Through The Looking Glass, a boutique focused entirely on the iconography of Lewis Carroll’s Alice.
Nearest Tube stops: Leicester Square, Charing Cross
9. John Sandoe
Three floors of tastefully chosen titles
John Sandoe spans three 18th-century shop buildings on a quiet Chelsea street. Its 30,000 books line every available surface across three floors, heaped on tables, windowsills and bannisters. Some of the walls even turn out to be sliding panels that reveal bookshelves behind bookshelves.
Its discerning selection of titles has earned kudos from the likes of novelist Edna O’Brien, playwright Tom Stoppard and shoe designer Manolo Blahnik.
What’s nearby: Saatchi Gallery, where you can discover fresh new works by emerging artists.
Nearest Tube stop: Sloane Square
10. Walden Books
Used books off the beaten path
London is rife with secondhand bookshops, but Walden Books is among the most charming. Named for American philosopher Henry David Thoreau’s classic text on living secluded in the woods, this little bookshop is tucked away in a side street off chaotic Camden.
It is overflowing with preloved finds, from the shelves groaning with rare books lining its cosy interior, to the discount racks and bargain bins that visitors may browse on the forecourt.
A lovely wisteria vine curls across the shopfront, festooning it with pale purple blooms come spring. Do note the shop’s opening hours, which are from Thursday to Sunday only.
What’s nearby: Camden Market, a hipster haven with more than 1,000 stalls heaving with street food, artisanal jewellery and vinyls.
Nearest Tube stops: Chalk Farm, Kentish Town West
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