Shop of the month
Daunt Books, 83–84,
Marylebone High Street, W1
LONG before James Daunt took over the lease in 1990, the site of Daunt Books in Marylebone was in the book business. As a Victorian shop, the wares were mainly theological, expanding to maps and travel writing by the early 20th century. It was an earlier bookseller, Francis Edwards, who built the famous double-height Edwardian gallery in 1910, creating one of the first purpose-built bookshops in the world. The front windows, anchored by slabs of pink granite and spindly boiserie, were filled by two more independent bookshops before Mr Daunt arrived.
In 1999, Daunt Books took over No 84 next door and other branches in London and Oxford began to appear. A publishing arm opened in 2010, Daunt Books Publishing, which revives forgotten classics ( by Dorothy Baker; by Vivian Gornick) and also launches debut authors. ‘Dinah Brooke’s is the book I’ll recommend for devouring this autumn,’ says Marigold Atkey, the publisher. ‘For fans of Roald Dahl, Evelyn Waugh, and Ottessa Moshfegh, this is a novel that will grab you
