Oliver Darkshire: Once Upon a Tome
Streaming on March 30, 2023 at 12:00pm
Considered a Literary Hub and BookPage Most Anticipated Book of 2023, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world’s oldest bookshops, Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761).
In his new book Oliver Darkshire describes Sotheran’s brushes with history (Dickens, the Titanic), its joyous disorganization, and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause the computer to burst into flames. Darkshire shares trivia about ancient editions and explores the strange space that books occupy in our lives—where old books often have strong sentimental value, but rarely a commercial one.
Once Upon a Tome is love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment.
