Panorama Shakespeare and Company. Virtual tour of Shakespeare and Company. Attractions, map, photos, videos. Shakespeare and Co. What to visit in Paris? Shakespeare and company

	Nearest hotels:	190 meters	Hotel Odeon Saint Germain	from	170 € *
		60 meters	Odeon Hotel	from	190 € *
		200 meters	Hotel Villa Des Princes	from	139 € *
			* minimum room rate for two in low season
	Nearest metro:	220 meters	Odéon		lines
		250 meters	Saint-Michel		line

Sylvia Beach was a guardian angel for these men, who later became the glory of Anglo-American literature of the 20th century, lending money, firewood, books...

... In addition, Sylvia gave Joyce, for example, a fabulous gift: she first published his novel “Ulysses,” which no one wanted to print either on this side of the ocean or on the other side of the ocean, and later republished it several times.

This is what Hemingway writes about her shop in his “celebration”:

In those days I did not have money to buy books. I borrowed books at 12 Rue Odeon, from Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company bookshop, which was also a library. After the street where the cold wind blew, this library with a large stove, tables and bookshelves, with new books in the display case and photographs of famous writers, living and dead, seemed especially warm and cozy. All the photographs looked like amateur ones, and even the dead writers looked as if they were still living. Sylvia had an active face with clear features, brown eyes, quick as those of a small animal and cheerful as those of a young girl, and wavy brown hair thrown back from a clean forehead and cut below the ears, level with the collar of her brown velvet jacket. . She had beautiful legs, she was kind-hearted, cheerful, inquisitive and loved to joke and chat. And no one has ever treated me better than her.

In the 30s, the store began to make a loss, but Sylvia held on with the help of old friends, and in 1941 she refused to sell the last copy of Joyce’s Finnegans Wake to a Nazi officer and the store was closed. Although the books were preserved, the store was never opened after the war.

In 1951, with the permission of Sylvia Beach, a bookstore with the same name was opened near the church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvres on rue de la Bûcherie by the American George Whitman, who retired from running the store only in 2010, at the age of 98 . He managed in many ways to resurrect the spirit of Sylvia’s first “Shakespeare”, and in some ways to go further. Here, among the endless shelves of books, American youth literally lived (that is, they put down their sleeping bags and lived :)), read books and worked in the store for several hours a day, for which George cooked them pancakes in the morning and treated them with syrup.

He himself called his “project”: “A socialist utopia disguised as a bookshop.”

Now the store is run by Sylvia Beach Whitman, George's daughter :), who is destined to preserve glorious traditions by her very name.

These are such amazing people...

Shakespeare and Company

In those days there was nothing to buy books with. Books could be borrowed from the Shakespeare and Company paid library at 12 Rue Odeon; the library and bookstore were owned by Sylvia Beach. On a cold, windy street, it was a warm, cheerful corner with a large stove fired in winter, with books on the tables and shelves, photographs of famous writers, living and dead. The photographs were like snapshots, and even deceased writers looked as if they were still alive. Sylvia had a very lively face with sharp features, brown eyes, lively, like those of a small animal, cheerful, like those of a girl, and wavy brown hair, which she combed upward, revealing a beautiful forehead, and cut below the lobes, and in the back - above the collar brown velvet jacket. She had beautiful legs, and she was kind, cheerful, interested in people, and loved to joke and gossip.

I was very timid when I came there for the first time; I did not have money with me to enroll in the library. She said that I could deposit money any time I had it, wrote me a card and said that I could take as many books as I needed.

She had no reason to trust me. She didn’t know me, and the address I told her—rue Cardinal Lemoine—was nowhere poorer. But she was delightful, charming and welcoming, and behind her, tall, ceiling-high, stretched into the back room, which looked out onto the courtyard, shelves and shelves of book wealth.

I started with Turgenev, took both volumes of Notes of a Hunter and an early novel by D.H. Lawrence - I think it was Sons and Lovers - and Sylvia offered to take more books if I wanted. I chose War and Peace translated by Constance Garnett and The Gambler with stories by Dostoevsky.

“I’ll come pay,” I replied. - There is money at home.

That’s not what I mean,” she said. - Pay when it is convenient for you.

When does Joyce arrive? - I asked.

If it comes, it is usually at the very end of the day. -Have you never seen him?

“We saw him at Michaud, having dinner with his family,” I said. “But it’s impolite to look at people when they’re eating, and Michaud is expensive.”

Do you eat at home?

Now more often - yes. We have a good cook.

There are no restaurants nearby, right?

Yes. How do you know?

Larbo lived there,” she said. - He liked everything there - except for this.

The nearest cheap and decent establishment is near the Pantheon.

I don't know this area. We eat at home. Come sometime with your wife.

Make sure I pay first,” I said. - But thank you very much anyway.

Read, take your time.

At home, in our two-room apartment, where there was no hot water, no toilet, only a portable toilet, which did not seem inconvenient to someone who was used to an outdoor toilet in Michigan - but a cheerful and bright apartment, with a beautiful view and a good spring mattress on the floor under a nice elegant bedspread, with my favorite paintings on the walls, I told my wife about what a wonderful place I had come across.

Teti, go and pay today,” she said.

Of course I’ll go,” I said. - The two of us will go. And then we’ll take a walk along the embankment.

Let's walk along the Rue Seine and look into all the galleries and shop windows.

Yes. We can go anywhere, let's go to some new cafe where we don't know anyone and no one knows us, and we'll have one drink.

We can do two.

And then we'll eat somewhere.

No. Don't forget, we need to pay for the library. Let's go home, eat at home, eat deliciously and drink "Bon" from the cooperative, which you see from the window - the wine with the price is in the window. And then we’ll read, and then we’ll go to bed with you.

And we will never love anyone except each other.

Yes. Never.

What a beautiful day and evening. Now let's have lunch. I am very hungry. I worked in a cafe on only coffee with milk.

How did you do, Teti?

Seems good. Hope. What are we having for lunch?

Small radishes, good veal liver with mashed potatoes and chicory salad. Apple pie.

And now we have all the books in the world to read, we will take them with us on trips.

Is this fair?

Certainly.

And does she have Henry James?

Certainly.

Oh, she said. - What luck that you found this place.

“Luck is always with us,” I said, and like a fool, I didn’t knock on wood. And in the apartment there was a tree all around, just knock.

I love bookstores. Especially second-hand books. I can spend hours testing the patience of trusting friends who frivolously nod along the way with the phrase “let’s go to the bookstore.” I leaf through books, sniff them, examine them, choose them. I remember I even skipped school exclusively in bookstores. He's still a bookworm.

Accordingly, we will now talk about a bookstore. About the famous bookstore, which is located on the Seine embankment opposite Notre Dame Cathedral.

It's more of a book club, really. A huge number of books - used, new, worn, very rare and modern. Books are arranged on shelves, on the floor, on the stairs. A real treasure chest.

In 1917, the daughter of an American priest, writer and publisher Sylvia Beach, who was studying French literature in Paris at the end of the First World War, met the owner of the literary salon, Adrienne Monnier. Under her influence, in 1919, Sylvia opened the English-language book store Shakespeare and Company. The name, as the legend says, Sylvia saw in a dream.

The cozy shop was a combination of a store and a library with books delivered to your home. For forgetful readers who did not return the book on time, Sylvia mailed a card with a picture of Shakespeare tearing out his hair in indignation.

Sylvia's tuxedo, coupled with wool carpets, walls draped in beige fabric and antique furniture, captivated visitors. Sylvia dreamed of opening a cafe above the store. She wanted to have a place where people could read, talk, and drink tea. She wanted to create a completely homely atmosphere.

At first, regulars of the Monier salon and curious French people looked into the store. Gradually, a whole galaxy of great writers decisively rushed here: Ernest Hemingway, Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Bernard Shaw, Andre Gide, Paul Valéry, the epic Gertrude Stein and many others.

Hemingway later dedicated the story “A Feast That Always Be With You” to Sylvia. He wrote: “... no one has ever treated me better than Sylvia.”

In 1921, the store moved closer to Monier's salon. At the same time, or more precisely in 1922, Sylvia first published Joyce’s novel “Ulysses,” which was banned by the censorship of that time. And immediately after publication, the novel began to enjoy success.

In the 30s, the store experienced financial difficulties and existed only thanks to the support of Sylvia’s friends.

In 1941, during the Nazi occupation, the store continued to exist, although not for long. Sylvia had a conflict with a Nazi officer who wanted to buy Joyce's book Finnegans Wake. The book turned out to be a single copy, and Sylvia refused to sell it. The enraged German left, as usual, threatening that he would show everyone and the shop would be closed.

Wasting no time, Sylvia gathered friends who took out all the books and even painted over the sign. When the officer returned with help, they no longer found any store. Shakespeare and Co. disappeared along with its owner.

What happened next is still unclear: somewhere it is written that the American woman hid throughout the war, and Wikipedia writes that the obstinate publisher ended up in the Vittel camp for several months, then returned to Paris, but said goodbye to the store. One thing is certain - Sylvia remained alive and lived a long life.

The story, as we understand it, did not end there. In 1951, Walt Whitman's grandson, George Whitman, an American by birth, picked up the fallen banner of Shakespeare & Co. and opened a small bookstore, calling it Mistral. He collected books bit by bit - in markets, from private individuals, bought the library of Simone de Beauvoir after her death and eventually collected a wonderful collection of old, rare books.

At first the store occupied only one floor, but over time George expanded the area to include two upper floors.

In 1964, Sylvia Beach allowed him to use the name of her store and Mistral was solemnly renamed Shakespeare and Co. By restoring the old title, George continued Sylvia's tradition of helping unknown writers. He placed armchairs and sofas in the store so that young talented but needy prose writers could work and even spend the night there. The cozy store became the main meeting place for the creative intelligentsia of the 60-70s.

Whitman later passed his creation on to his daughter, named, by the way, Sylvia. And Sylvia Beach in 1959 published a memoir book “Shakespeare and Company,” which was subsequently translated into many languages.

Near the entrance to the store you can read something written in chalk manifesto(abbreviated and I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the translation):

“Some people call me Don Quixote because my head is still in the clouds and I perceive everyone as angels in heaven. Instead of being a respectable bookseller, I'm like a frustrated writer's retreat, with rooms like chapters in a novel.

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are more real to me than neighbors. And even stranger is that before I was born, Dostoevsky wrote “The Idiot” - the story of my life. Since I read it, I have been looking for a girl whose name is Nastasya Filippovna...

A hundred years ago my bookstore was a liquor store. And in 1600 the whole house was a monastery, called the “Master's House”. In the Middle Ages, every monastery had a lamplighter monk, whose duty was to light the lamps at dusk. I've done this for fifty years. Now it's my daughter's turn. D. Whitman"

Yes, it says so above the entrance: be polite to strangers, any of them could turn out to be an angel.

Creative people still have the right to stay here on the condition that they work at least an hour a day. And of course, you can read as much as you like and at the same time admire the view of Notre Dame from the window. Imagine how great it is: a small cozy closet under the stairs, with an armchair and table, a table lamp - and you sit, culturally leaf through books, take notes, work and relax with all your might.

On the third floor there is a made bed, littered with books. I have exactly the same one. In general, the store has an absolutely homely atmosphere. People sit (and even lie) shoulder to shoulder and quietly and thoughtfully leaf through books.

The doors of "Shakespeare and Co." are open from 12 to 24 hours. So if a tourist is suddenly visited by a muse and he decides to stay there for the night, the typewriters and secluded corners of "Shakespeare and Co." are at his service, no one will turn him away.

While you're here, grab and read as much as you want, says the store's motto. Great, right?

Paris inspires creativity. Many young writers became famous after settling in Paris; just remember Hemingway and Marquez. Where can you meet famous authors or those who have begun their path to fame in Paris today? To do this, you need to go to the Latin Quarter and visit one of the most famous bookstores in Paris, called Shakespeare and Company.

It all started long before World War II, in the 20s, when an American woman named Sylvia Beach settled in Paris. She opened the first Shakespeare and Company store on the left bank of the Seine on the Rue Odéon. In this store, Sylvia sold books that were prohibited from publication in other countries. Thus, James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses” was published in Paris, which was condemned for obscenity in the United States. Ernst Hemingway was the first to dare to bring a banned book to his homeland. Hemingway in those years was one of the regular visitors to the Shakespeare and Company shop, along with Francis Scott Fitzgerald and other writers who lived nearby in the Latin Quarter. Hemingway described his Parisian years in the novel “A Feast That Is Always With You.”

During World War II, Paris was occupied by the Germans. The Nazis tried to destroy books that contained modernist aesthetics that were alien to them. Joyce's novels, of course, were banned. Sylvia Beach saved the last copy of Joyce's Finnigan's Wake by refusing to sell it to a German officer. The store was closed, the books were hidden by acquaintances of Sylvia Beach.

The memory of the bookstore remains. In the 50s, the American George Whitman, a descendant of the famous poet Whitman, settled in Paris and opened a new bookstore on Rue Bouchry. After the death of Sylvia Beach in 1962, the store became known as Shakespeare and Company. Beat generation writers William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and others became regular visitors to the shop. Vagabond writers, rebel writers who created a new direction in the literature of the 20th century.

The store still exists under the sign of Shakespeare and Company. This is not just a bookstore that sells mainly books in English, but also a library, a meeting place for writers from different countries. The room where the store is located is small, everything is lined with shelves of books. Those who wish can read a book right here, sitting on a plush chair. This is mainly English-language literature. There are also books in Russian, but these are volumes from the collected works of Gorkov and Sholokhov. And if you are looking for some rare publications (including those banned elsewhere), you will be allowed to go up to the second floor, where a collection of old books is located. There are two beds at Shakespeare and Company, which provide overnight accommodation for young writers who have arrived in Paris and have found no other shelter.

The store has recently become very popular due to the literary festival held in mid-June. Writers, poets, and journalists come to the festival from America and other countries. They discuss current issues, for example, this year the theme of the festival was politics and fiction. Meetings take place right on the street, in front of the bookstore entrance. The actors recite poetry and music plays. You can also meet literary celebrities, for example, this year the festival was visited by the English writer Martin Amis, author of the novels “Money” and “Success”.