Daunt Books: a treasure trove in Marylebone

Treasure trove

This is such a pretty bookshop, it almost diverts attention from the substantial collection of books it holds. Almost. The first Daunt bookstore, situated on a quiet road in Marylebone, a London suburb, was formerly an Edwardian antiquarian bookshop. That ambience has been retained, and translates to a gorgeous oak gallery, old-fashioned skylights that pour in a mellow light into the main hall, gorgeous staircases to access the upper floors…and the books. Floor to ceiling, bookcases are stacked with new titles, old titles, authors one has read years ago and forgotten, authors one has never heard of.

Daunt is James Daunt`s baby, the former banker having opened the Marylebone outlet first in 1990. Now there are nine Daunt bookstores across London but for sheer atmosphere, it is hard to beat the ambience of the Marylebone store.

It takes a little time for the enchanted browser, having drunk their fill of the store`s interiors, to realize that books need to be tracked by country here, not by author name.

And if by chance the aforementioned (still) enchanted browser didn’t already know, it takes a little time for them to realize the store specializes in travel literature. Oh, there are books galore in the general category, in fiction, gardening, interior decoration, cookery; there`s a well-stocked children`s section where young mothers often read out to their little ones and are soon thronged by other intrigued toddlers. However, Daunt is where the travel-writing aficionado heads, to pick up a Bruce Chatwin, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Jon Krakauer or Bill Bryson, or even a guidebook for their next trip.

So much atmosphere

Adding to the overall prettiness is that people stand here and there, by the round tables, by the bookshelves, turning pages over, absorbed in whatever they are reading. Just out of eyeshot but very much within earshot, someone climbs the staircase with rhythmic thumps. Those on the upper floor look expectantly to the head of the weathered stairs but no one emerges…is it perchance the bookstore ghost?

Upstairs there`s a section dedicated to the Bard, next to it a section devoted to poetry. There are travel guides (walking, cycling, road trips, cruises), phrasebooks, all carrying the faint fragrance of antiquity. Signed copies of Elif Shafak`s There are Rivers in the Sky beckon browsers; so does Cold Kitchen: A Year of Culinary Journeys by Caroline Eden, also duly signed. Recommended India fiction titles include The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese and Anita Nair`s new Borei Gowda mystery Hot Stage.

Daunt offers their stores for events, talks with authors and the Daunt Book Festival that is held every spring. Their cotton and canvas bags have attained the status of It bags, with actors, models, celebs all toting the statement tote, which , was originally made to carry a hefty pile of books. Purchases above GBP 80 gets you a free Daunt bag, others pay GBP 10 upwards for the bags, which are made in India by Re-wrap, a social enterprise which trains women to manufacture what have become truly iconic organic cotton bags. In 2010, Daunt began their publishing arm and now brings out literary fiction, non-fiction and some out- of -print books, too.

Ultimately though, it`s the chicken and the egg question: has Daunt Books made reading trendy again? Or merely given bookworms a gorgeous place to go browse?