The Bookseller's Tale

The Bookseller’s Tale by Martin Latham (2020 Particular Books hardcover 349pp)

 

 

It was the title and online blurb of this book that attracted me – I thought it was going to be another work of light-hearted memoir along the lines of Shaun Bythell’s recent works. But this turned out to be something quite different so I am a little disappointed with what I ended up reading.

Although there is a smattering of memoir and personal anecdotes in the text, this book is more a collection of loosely connected essays each covering a different aspect of book history and/or how we’ve related to books throughout the ages.

There’s some interesting stuff in here – from a discussion of ‘comfort books’, the excesses of book collectors, medieval marginalia through to notable booksellers and bookshops. Plenty to amuse and educate, some things I had never heard of before so that’s a bonus.

Overall, however, I found it a little dry and dare I say even boring in parts. It only really took off for me when the author recounted events from his own past or (as in the very last chapter) gave us his personal bookselling history.

I don’t want to run down this title too much – after all its about books and that can’t be all bad. Probably something you could dip in and out of over a week or two and learn a few interesting facts rather than to be binged over a couple of sessions like I did, I suspect my expectations worked against me in this case.