In London for the weekend I paid a first visit to John Sandoe Books in Chelsea. Uneven wooden floors, narrow twisting staircases, miles and miles of shelving ingeniously fitted into a small space, and everywhere books you'll want to buy. As Verlyn Klinkenborg says, there is the sense that stock has been arranged "by free association", and a serendipitous discovery is a mere handspan away.
I went with no particular shopping list in mind (and was constrained, once again, by what I could reasonably carry back with me on the plane), but when I saw Byron Rogers' The Last Englishman: The Life of J.L. Carr, I knew at once that it was the one to come home with me. More on it in due course, perhaps, but for now, if you don't already know A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr, you have a treat in store.
Added to my wish list - thank you!
Posted by: Toffeeapple | 13 November 2017 at 01:23 PM
You're welcome!
Posted by: Cornflower | 13 November 2017 at 08:46 PM
Luckily one of the books I kept from my mother's library. I echo your recommendations.
Posted by: Claire | 14 November 2017 at 03:40 PM
Thank you, Claire, that's good to know.
Posted by: Cornflower | 14 November 2017 at 04:11 PM
Ooh, I'd have pounced on that Carr biography too. I'm just about to get one of Carr's county maps framed. A man of many talents!
Posted by: Juxtabook | 16 November 2017 at 11:36 AM
He was, wasn't he?
Posted by: Cornflower | 16 November 2017 at 08:44 PM