A Brief History Of Shakespeare And Company Paris' Legendary Bookstore

Shakespeare and Company is a bookstore unlike any other. It was home to the Lost Generation in the 1920s, the Beatnik generation in the 1950s, and should be on any literary lovers bucket list of Paris today.

Shakespeare and Company was founded in 1951

An American serviceman, George Whitman opened a bookstore in 1951 on Paris’ Left Bank. He arrived during World War II to study at the Sorbonne on the G.I. Bill and never left. He chose an old 16th-century monastery for his new business on a prime piece of real estate; it’s just minutes from the famous Notre Dame Cathedral where the Hunchback hangs out and on the steps of the river Seine. It is arguably one of the most famous bookshops in the world and quickly gathered a reputation where literary types from the Beatnik Generation would always find a home through the 1950s and 60s.

It’s Paris’ second Shakespeare and Company bookstore

Sylvia Whitman, the current owner of Shakespeare and Company and daughter of founder, George

The bookstore has been home to lots of writers and artists over the years

In its first incarnation under Sylvia Beach, the bookstore was home to the Lost Generation; writers and artists who were trying to write their way out of the horrors of World War II. Many like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway found kindred spirits in the store. Under George Whitman, the shop welcomed a new generation of writers, including Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, and Ray Bradbury. William S. Burroughs is said to have studied Whitman’s collection of medical textbooks to research portions of Naked Lunch and gave its first reading there before it was really finished. Today, you are as likely to find Zadie Smith giving a book reading as you are Martin Amis or Philip Pullman.

You can sleep in one of the 30 beds as a ‘tumbleweed’

Under George Whitman, aspiring writers were encouraged to stay in the bookstore in various cots that are dotted around the place. He called these people the ‘tumbleweeds’ – people who roll around the place, hoping to write their best work. Tumbleweeds have always been offered a free basic bed for the night in exchange for a couple of hours work each day, the promise to read a book each day, and to write a one-page autobiography. Ethan Hawke is among an estimated 30,000 people who have tumbleweeded at the store – he stayed there for six nights when he arrived in Paris at age 16. Since George Whitman’s death (and before), it is his daughter Sylvia Whitman (named after Sylvia Beach) who runs the store and this truly exceptional literary dynasty.

Shakespeare and Company, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, Paris, France, +33 (0)1 43 25 40 93

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