Once Upon a Tome
The misadventures of a rare bookseller
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- € 9,49
Beschrijving uitgever
'Peculiarly hilarious!' - William Gibson
'Every page is a pleasure' - Lindsey FItzharris
'Utterly charming' - Tom Holland
'Laugh-out-loud' - Garth Nix
'A must read' - Fergus Butler-Gallie
'Brims with self-effacing charm' - Caitlin Doughty
'Unfortunately I have mislaid the book in question' - Neil Gaiman
Welcome to Sotheran's, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and wonderful clientele, suspicious cupboards, unlabelled keys, poisoned books and some things that aren't even books, presided over by one deeply eccentric apprentice.
Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd on Sackville Street (est. 1761) to interview for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, he was soon balancing teetering stacks of first editions, fending off nonagenarian widows and trying not to upset the store's resident ghost (the late Mr Sotheran, hit by a tram).
Darkshire came to love Sotheran's, not just for its illustrious history (or for producing the most cursed book of all time), but also its joyous disorganization and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause a computer to burst into flames.
By turns unhinged and earnestly dog-eared, Once Upon a Tome is the rather colourful story of life in one of the world's oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this witty and heartwarming memoir, Darkshire, a former bookseller at London's Henry Sotheran Ltd., catalogs the stories behind the books, patrons, and antiques that found their way to the shop during his apprenticeship. He comically recounts peculiar interactions with customers, or "cryptids": one woman offered to sing for him then later recanted because his aura was off, a customer nicknamed The Spindleman kept trying to lend his own books in exchange for favors, and an elderly patron was always impossible to please. His humor extends to the store's resident ghost as well, a polite spirit named Henry (after the last Henry Sotheran, who died in an accident not far from the store) who only caused minor incidents during Darkshire's tenure. More serious matters include taking care of antiquated collector's volumes, which involved keeping the books away from sunlight and the arduous use of book oil to preserve their covers. The entertaining stories of the challenges Darkshire encountered day-to-day and the eccentric customers he served over the years add a ton of appeal. Darkshire's sunny temperament and respect for the trade will resonate with book lovers and fellow booksellers.
