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Mostly Joy: A Bookman's Story
Thomas Joy is one of the best known and best loved figures in the book trade. This is his autobiography. Far from being just a record of a 'specialist' world, MOSTLY JOY is a richly human story of one man's success, told with endearing fondness.
From his very first sentence Thomas Joy plunges the reader straight into the world of old Oxfordshire. His narrative is full of local lore, homely anecdotes and descriptions of the life of a happy family in the days when money was less easily come by, but pleasures were cheap.
It is in Oxford that he began his career as a bookseller, starting at the bottom of the ladder which was to lead him to Harrods, the Army & Navy Stores (of which he became Deputy Managing Director) and, finally , to Hatchards, where he is today Managing Director.
He gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at a big store and writes absorbingly of wartime at Harrods, of famous visitors, of the history of the Army & Navy Stores, as well as topical problems such as shoplifting and staff management.
Without any malice the author chronicles his career and the many people who have figured in it, well--known and not so well-known, and, in the process, gives us his own recipe for the art of living.
From his very first sentence Thomas Joy plunges the reader straight into the world of old Oxfordshire. His narrative is full of local lore, homely anecdotes and descriptions of the life of a happy family in the days when money was less easily come by, but pleasures were cheap.
It is in Oxford that he began his career as a bookseller, starting at the bottom of the ladder which was to lead him to Harrods, the Army & Navy Stores (of which he became Deputy Managing Director) and, finally , to Hatchards, where he is today Managing Director.
He gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at a big store and writes absorbingly of wartime at Harrods, of famous visitors, of the history of the Army & Navy Stores, as well as topical problems such as shoplifting and staff management.
Without any malice the author chronicles his career and the many people who have figured in it, well--known and not so well-known, and, in the process, gives us his own recipe for the art of living.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 1971
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 1, 2019
I discovered this book in the course of some research about indentured booksellers apprentices; for some time I had thought that Harry Pratley was the only indentured bookseller in the UK in the twentieth century, but by chance I came across an audio recording of Tommy Joy talking about his own apprenticeship at Thornton's in Oxford, so I immediately bought this book to find out more. Sadly this didn't flesh out the period of his apprenticeship as much as I had hoped, but Joy is a good story-teller, and writes amusingly. Over the course of his life the field of bookselling changed a great deal, and it is very interesting to view literary life from the vantage point of the NET agreement, and when the rivals to books for the attention of young were silent movies, fishing for mussels in the Thames, and sewing machines.
Joy describes his life not only as a bookseller, but as a manager of several London department stores, and is much more readable as a "business autobiography" than many I have read. As such it also captures the changing nature of retail across the twentieth century, including a shift into big department stores, then the beginning of their eclipse due to improved supply chains.
Joy also recounts much about life in Oxford in the early twentieth century which was also truly fascinating. He describes it as almost village-like, when the whole city was dependent on the University and before it went through its industrial transformation.
As I say, quite an amusing, gentle read, perhaps of interest for some historical testimony about changing retail practices and environments, the history of bookselling, and a colourful depiction of the life and times of a well-travelled and independently minded man.
Joy describes his life not only as a bookseller, but as a manager of several London department stores, and is much more readable as a "business autobiography" than many I have read. As such it also captures the changing nature of retail across the twentieth century, including a shift into big department stores, then the beginning of their eclipse due to improved supply chains.
Joy also recounts much about life in Oxford in the early twentieth century which was also truly fascinating. He describes it as almost village-like, when the whole city was dependent on the University and before it went through its industrial transformation.
As I say, quite an amusing, gentle read, perhaps of interest for some historical testimony about changing retail practices and environments, the history of bookselling, and a colourful depiction of the life and times of a well-travelled and independently minded man.
June 6, 2026
Apparently, according to contemporary sources Thomas Joy was quite a pompous gentleman even though he came from a rather modest Oxford background. However, his autobiography, perhaps not surprisingly, does not portray him as such. It is a charming portrayal of someone making good from modest beginnings and it is absolutely absorbing. Perhaps, for me, that is because he had a long association with the book trade, even when his roles were as managing director of firms such as Harrods and the Army and Navy Stores he had other more far-reaching responsibilities. And he ended his career at the prestigious Piccadilly-based booksellers Hatchards. While there he was officially recognised as bookseller to the Queen. It was often whispered that he must have wondered where his knighthood went!
One of seven children, his six siblings all being girls, he writes an entertaining account of his younger years in Edwardian Oxford where his personality earned him any number of different jobs as a youngster. And at the age 14, he took his first steps working with books when he went to work at the Bodleian Library, earning 11s 6d [approximately 56p] per week. There he very quickly learnt the machinations of the book trade, which were to stand him in good stead for the remainder of his long life.
In 1919 he spotted an advertisement for an indentured apprentice at Thornton's, the Oxford bookseller's establishment and getting the job he embarked on what was to become 64 years of bookselling, As he progressed, he was promoted to buyer and cataloguer before he decided that he should expand his horizons by moving to London. And when a vacancy came up in the book department at Harrods he successfully applied for the job. He moved to London in 1933, became manager of the firm's Circulating Library and went on to take temporary charge of the book department during the Second World War when the official manager went to serve in the forces.
He relished the role, expanding Harrods' standing in the book world and in 1945, when the former manager returned to claim his job, he moved to the Army and Navy Stores, where, in took overall control of the book department and where he established the firm's library. His undoubted organisational ability was always recognised and 11 years later he became the 'Stores', as it was known, merchandise manager and deputy Managing Director. But despite his new responsibilities He always maintained his love of the book trade. And it was he who introduced the idea of an annual National Book Sale Week. And this brough back some happy memories for me as there is a photograph in the book with Joy overlooking the way the Stores presented their books at that sale. And it was just as I remember it for I visited the Stores almost everyday because it was in Victoria Street, just down the road from where my office was in Whitehall. And they had a distinctive way of presenting their wares at the book sale and it was just as I remember it for, though I did not purchase many books in the sale, being a secondhand and antiquarian bookseller myself, I did occasionally indulge in some titles in which I saw a profit!
After many years at the Stores He accepted the offer from publisher William 'Biily' Collins who had taken over Hatchards bookshop when it looked as though it might close. By this time he was even more heavily involved in the workings of the book trade and he inaugurated the popular Authors of the Year Party, which was held on the Martini Terrace at New Zealand House, helped to establish book sections in many department stores and even took over some ailing provincial independent bookshops, such as the Ancient House Bookshop in Ipswich. Eventually, and probably begrudgingly, he retired in 1985.
The book is full of interesting anecdotes and, forgive me, it is indeed a joyful read!
One of seven children, his six siblings all being girls, he writes an entertaining account of his younger years in Edwardian Oxford where his personality earned him any number of different jobs as a youngster. And at the age 14, he took his first steps working with books when he went to work at the Bodleian Library, earning 11s 6d [approximately 56p] per week. There he very quickly learnt the machinations of the book trade, which were to stand him in good stead for the remainder of his long life.
In 1919 he spotted an advertisement for an indentured apprentice at Thornton's, the Oxford bookseller's establishment and getting the job he embarked on what was to become 64 years of bookselling, As he progressed, he was promoted to buyer and cataloguer before he decided that he should expand his horizons by moving to London. And when a vacancy came up in the book department at Harrods he successfully applied for the job. He moved to London in 1933, became manager of the firm's Circulating Library and went on to take temporary charge of the book department during the Second World War when the official manager went to serve in the forces.
He relished the role, expanding Harrods' standing in the book world and in 1945, when the former manager returned to claim his job, he moved to the Army and Navy Stores, where, in took overall control of the book department and where he established the firm's library. His undoubted organisational ability was always recognised and 11 years later he became the 'Stores', as it was known, merchandise manager and deputy Managing Director. But despite his new responsibilities He always maintained his love of the book trade. And it was he who introduced the idea of an annual National Book Sale Week. And this brough back some happy memories for me as there is a photograph in the book with Joy overlooking the way the Stores presented their books at that sale. And it was just as I remember it for I visited the Stores almost everyday because it was in Victoria Street, just down the road from where my office was in Whitehall. And they had a distinctive way of presenting their wares at the book sale and it was just as I remember it for, though I did not purchase many books in the sale, being a secondhand and antiquarian bookseller myself, I did occasionally indulge in some titles in which I saw a profit!
After many years at the Stores He accepted the offer from publisher William 'Biily' Collins who had taken over Hatchards bookshop when it looked as though it might close. By this time he was even more heavily involved in the workings of the book trade and he inaugurated the popular Authors of the Year Party, which was held on the Martini Terrace at New Zealand House, helped to establish book sections in many department stores and even took over some ailing provincial independent bookshops, such as the Ancient House Bookshop in Ipswich. Eventually, and probably begrudgingly, he retired in 1985.
The book is full of interesting anecdotes and, forgive me, it is indeed a joyful read!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews