Persephone Books first appeared on my bookish radar years ago when I started watching Booktube. I remember watching London-based booktubers visit this gorgeous shop, jealous that they had so many local independent bookshops to choose from. Back in high school I never imagined I would someday spend a year studying abroad in England, much less that I would be going on bookshop crawls with my friends in London. It never occurred to me that I would ever peruse those shelves of gray covers or admire those beautiful endpapers in person.
Until I actually did.
Visiting Persephone Books was such a surreal experience. I can honestly say it’s one of the loveliest bookshops I’ve ever been in. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous, but the people there were just so sweet.
I think Persephone Books describe what they do best themselves:
Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction by mid-twentieth century (mostly) women writers. All of our 132 books are intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written and are chosen to appeal to busy people wanting titles that are neither too literary nor too commercial. We publish novels, short stories, diaries, memoirs and cookery books; each has an elegant grey jacket, a ‘fabric’ endpaper with matching bookmark, and a preface by writers such as Jilly Cooper, David Kynaston and Elaine Showalter.
We definitely need more bookshops dedicated selling the kinds of texts that Persephone Books carries. This small, carefully curated collection emphasizes the importance of listening to voices that have not been heard in quite some time.
This bookshop sits on a cute little street lined with brick buildings and strewn with adorable pink and green flags. I love the simplicity of this shop’s design, its colorful clutter that is somehow still organized. The first thing you notice when you walk in is that all the books have the same gray cover design. Unless you happen to know the author or title of a text already, all you really have to go by while shopping is the short blurb provided on the cards shown in the photograph below. There’s something refreshing about walking into a bookshop without any idea of what you’re going to buy or what you might find. Since I started book blogging, it’s rare that I walk into a bookshop and know nothing about any of the books on the shelves. I had so much fun reading all of these little cards and stumbling upon texts and writers that I had never heard of before.
All in all, my trip to Persephone Books was everything I had hoped for and more. I still can’t believe I actually went there in person–you have no idea how excited I was to go! Also, whoever chose the decor for this bookshop deserves some sort of award. Look how adorable everything is! That calendar is the most aesthetically pleasing calendar ever!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip down memory lane! Have you ever been to Persephone Books? Do you have any of their books? What’s your favorite bookshop in London? Let me know in the comments section below!
Yours,
HOLLY
Oh my gosh the photos are amazing! Thanks for sharing Holly. I always wondered what Persephone books looked like inside 🙂
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Thank you!! It’s such an adorable shop, I could have sat there and gazed at everything all day long ❤
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Ahh, I adore their books but I’ve never been to the actual shop. I’d love to go some day, and I’m glad it lived up to your expectations 😊
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Would definitely recommend a visit if you’re ever in the area! It’s so lovely 🙂
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That was fun. Thank you.
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Thanks!! 🙂
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Can’t believe I haven’t been here in all my trips to London! It looks beautiful! I love Foyles in London – there’s just so many books – I was in heaven! ♥️
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Ahh Foyles is another one of my favorite London bookshops! ❤ I love how many floors it has–I feel like I could get lost in there for ages.
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That’s cool! Daunt books (the one in Marylebone) is quite cool, and I liked the way they are organised by country.
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Daunt Books is another favorite! ❤ Such a pretty bookshop!
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What a gorgeous bookstore & I ADORE the concept behind it 😍 London bookworms are so lucky – I seriously want to travel there just to check out all the gorgeous bookstores 😂
💛 Ngoc
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Right?!?! I want to be a London bookworm!! So many amazing bookshops so close together ❤
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What a beautiful bookstore! I went to two different stories when I was in London, but none of these small, unique ones. I’ll have to go back someday and do more bookshop hopping.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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I love all of London’s tiny bookshops! They all have so much personality and charm ❤
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This place sounds amazing! I’m UK-based but I’ve never heard of it. I’ll try and go there next time I’m in London.
I recently moved to Bath and we’re quite spoiled for choice here for book shops – I love it.
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Oooh Bath sounds like such a lovely place! Definitely would like to visit someday ❤
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I love the whole gray-cover design. Definitely an original take. It’s like those book shops where they wrap books and write a quick summary of it without the title/author on it. 😛
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True!! You’d have to do some outside research to really know what you’re getting, which I think is great–it’s nice just going in blind sometimes 🙂
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I have never heard of this but it looks amazing! really minimalist though. I want to know which Frances Hodgson Burnett book it was talking about.
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Yeah it is very minimalist!! Although the shop is very tiny and full, so it doesn’t feel very minimalist when you’re in there haha 🙂
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OMG how have I never been to the Persephone bookshop? I absolutely must put them on my to-visit list! 🙂
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Yes!! It’s such a lovely shop ❤
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Ooooh, I wish I heard of this earlier! I was in London in June but I didn’t visit ahhhhhhh!
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That’s how I felt the first time I went to London–and then I was like I MUST GO when I went back 🙂 Definitely worth a visit!
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