Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller

by Oliver Darkshire

Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd on Sackville Street (est. 1761) to interview for their bookselling apprenticeship, a decision which has bedevilled him ever since.

He'd intended to stay for a year before launching into some less dusty, better remunerated career. Unfortunately for him, the alluring smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap proved irresistible. Soon he was balancing teetering stacks of first editions, fending off nonagenarian widows with a ten-foot pole and trying not to upset the store's resident ghost (the late Mr Sotheran had unfinished business when he was hit by that tram).

For while Sotheran's might be a treasure trove of literary delights, it sings a siren song to eccentrics. There are not only colleagues whose tastes in rare items range from the inspired to the mildly dangerous, but also zealous collectors seeking knowledge, curios, or simply someone with whom to hold a four hour conversation about books bound in human skin.

By turns unhinged and earnestly dog-eared, Once Upon a Tome is the rather colourful story of life in one of the country's most ancient bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Books About Books, Humor, Biography, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2022

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilariously self-deprecating memoir of how the author became an apprentice bookseller at the very old London rare bookshop, Sotheran's. If you've ever wondered what it's like to work in a bookshop - or even romanticized the idea in your head - this is a must-read since it will largely disabuse you of those notions while providing belly laughs!

Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book (plus one other book by a bookseller) over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[K.J. Charles]

Entertaining, rather whimsical, clearly somewhat exaggerated but who cares because very funny account of life in a rare bookshop. Written with terrific humour and great affection, a few very sharp political points (about who you sell books to, homophobia, ableism, and misogyny); also excellent deployment of footnotes. I'd recommend being bought this for Christmas, and then holing up for a comfortable day on the sofa with it.

[Justin Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing anecdotes from an apprentice rare bookseller who earns his stripes the hard way. Written with wit and modern antiquity, the experience is a lovely cross-pollination between Dickens and the Twitterverse.

As a collector of rare books, I recognized myself in chapters which describe the eccentricities of various clientele. Darkshire does an excellent job characterizing himself as someone begrudgingly good at his job. He's personally invested but not too shy to poke fun at the unexpected wiles of bookselling.

In the end, I learned a lot about a fascinating trade which is becoming more unique by the day. And I got to have fun along the way. Some chapters are better than others and it's not a life-changing text, but to those of us who love and cherish books, rare or otherwise, there's a snarky coziness about this that is truly unique. If you suspect you’d like this book, you probably will!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most charming, cozy, and just overall *lovely* nonfiction book I've read in a very long time, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves books. (And really, why would you be here on Goodreads if you didn't?) If you ever loved James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, you'll love the tone of this book, which is just as warm and quirky, with a gentle (but very effective) sense of humor. (Just substitute books and booksellers for animals and vets!)

I spent this weekend immersed in it and absolutely loved the whole experience.

[Scottsdale Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occupational affinity and curiosity lead me to this title, and I stayed for the British humor and the anecdotal experiences. - Sara W.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly aiming to entrap those who have read other bookselling memoirs (e.g. Remainders of the Day), this is a little too effete and striving-for-wittiness to compete with the works of Shaun Bythell et al. Darkshire was an apprentice at Sotheran's, an institution of the rare books trade in London, and gets modest comic mileage out of the bizarre behaviour of colleagues and customers alike ("They don't tell you before you sign up to a bookshop that a significant part of your role has nothing to do with books, and everything to do with managing a host of colourful and fragile personalities"), as well as his own slacker persona (he was at one point diagnosed with narcolepsy, so couldn't entirely help it). I most enjoyed the section when he gets away from the shop, and London even, to go evaluate a collection and attend a book fair.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable and great fun.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bookselling memoir is one of my favorite genres. This one is entertaining, but reads more like a collection of ancedotes than a narrative, so I dipped into it at bedtimes rather than reading it straight through. Apparently, Oliver Darkshire rose to (relative) fame managing the social media account of the antiquarian bookstore he worked for (by his own account, completely without qualifications -- I suspect there's a generous helping of a certain kind of British self-deprecation here). I sampled the twitter feed, and did in fact find it charming. He's always telling anyone who comes to the store to watch out for cursed books, which seems to be a draw for many.

I was also tickled by the promotional blurb from Neil Gaiman on the jacket: "Unfortunately, I have mislaid the book in question."

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful gem of a read! The edition I read is the hardcover published by W.W. Norton-what a beautiful edition!
Oliver Darkshire is quite the vocabularist, which I enjoyed, adding several new to me words. My favorites were the bilibliowords (bibliocorpse, bibliopegy) and cryptid! While it's hard not to compare to Confessions of a Bookseller there are differences, and I enjoyed both books. Oliver's co-workers are treated kindly and with respect, (as well is Oliver noted in the forward note written by the Managing Director); and it is a wonderful insight into the iconic Sotheran's. The gourds that were carved with the face of Queen Victoria had quite a humorous demise and the chapter Portraits in the Attic had me laughing out loud!

[Helen Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many others, sometime in 2020, the Twitter algorithm plonked a tweet from the Sotherans account into my timeline. It sounded, frankly, ludicrous.

I loved it.

I’d followed the Sotherans account within seconds and started scrolling back. The person running it—I eventually learned it was one of the booksellers, Oliver—had concocted this Addams Family-like alternate reality within the antiquarian bookshop, which quickly grew to include layer upon layer of in-jokes, almost as sprawling as the bookshelves themselves. When Oliver went on holiday, people would sympathetically tell Chris, temporary holder of the Twitter account, that it was okay, Oliver would be back soon and they knew he would try his best. I would send friends tweets and hope they’d get the humour.

I wrote, “Visit Sotherans,” on my list for whenever I next got back to London.

When it was announced that Oliver had been commissioned to write a book about his time at Sotherans (he has since left, but still runs the Twitter account), I of course bought it. While there is some exaggeration for comic effect, it’s clear that rare bookselling is a different beast to standard bookselling, with a different skillset required. It’s more of a gamble, with books unable to be returned after they’ve been bought etc.

Each chapter is broken down into smaller vignettes, which makes this a perfect book for Betwixtmas. If you want to treat yourself in this Nothing Between Time, this is the one I’d recommend.

And I still plan to visit whenever I’m next in London.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Upon a Tome is one of those delightful bibliophile books that is entirely humorous, affectionate, and pure comfort reading. Surely my superfluous adjectives communicate how much this book delighted me.

It's also the case that this is a Very Rare Specimen of a book whose US edition is leagues more attractive than the UK edition. This version was designed by someone who also cares about elderly books. The cover, the title page, the illustrations, everything, are so lovely.

Due to Life Problems I have prescribed myself only comfort reads for the foreseeable future, and Once Upon a Tome will stand out as a ray of sunlight that made me laugh during a week in which I was more prone to sobbing and staring out of windows, Darcy-style, than anything else.

[Kristīne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ļoti pieklājīgs 3.5, dodu pusaci avansā, jo tomēr grāmatmīlestību pa spraugām spraucās laukā.

Grāmatu antikvariātā strādājoša pārdevēja memuārs, kas sola kolorītus personāžus, kuriozus atgadījumus, amata noslēpumus un vispārēju mīlestibu uz drukāto burtu. Tas viss arī bija, bet mazliet haotiskā sakārtojumā. Un varbūt, tikai varbūt, ne visiem, kas daudz un labi lasa, vajadzētu arī rakstīt. Lai gan lasīšana un rakstīšana noteikti viena otru neizslēdz, tas ne vienmēr ir priekšnoteikums veiksmei. Autors mēģina imitēt akadēmisko angļu valodu, ar kuras sausumu un manierīgumu mēdzam asociēt antikvāro vidi, bet šis pārspīlētais stils ne vienmēr nostrādā. Atsevišķās epizodēs uzreiz saskatīju autora centienu ar valodu sabiezināt krāsas, lai notikušais izskanētu kaut cik amizanti. Es zinu, es pati tā esmu darījusi savos Grāmatnīcas stāstos, un man ļoti žēl.

Bet viss jau nav tik slikti, informācijas diezgan daudz, arī man, jo tomēr darbojos jaunu grāmatu tirdzniecībā, un no antikvārās ir būtiskas atškirības. Jāsaka, ka katrā valstī šīs sfēras atšķiras un tas viss sasitīts ar drukāto grāmatu vēsturi.

Ir, protams, lietas, kas visiem grāmatpārdevējiem ir kopīgas. Pietāte pret grāmatu kā fizisku objektu. Saskarsme ar visu emocionālo nokrāsu klientiem, tici pilnmēnesi vai nē. Ideāli un pilnīgs kukū, kas liek tev turēties pie šī darbiņa, pat ja zini, miljonus nekad nenopelnīsi.

Lasīt jau var, es tikai kārtējo reizi esmu paskarbāka, jo gana šādus memuārus esmu lasījusi, un būtu gribējusi jēdzīgāku sakārtojumu, vairāk konsekvences, mazāk atkārtojumu un valodas patosa. Un līdz galam tā arī nesapratu, kā Sotheran's kā uzņemums turas virs ūdens ar šādiem darbiniekiem un viņu darba metodēm (kuras, nepārprotami, grāmatā speciāli novestas līdz absurdam, bet ja gribat absurdu, labāk paskatieties Black Books).

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been in lots and lots of second-hand bookshops, as anyone who follows me on Twitter will know… There is something about them that I love. There is the thrill of never really knowing what you are going to find, it might be a book that you remember from childhood or something that you have been looking for, for a long time. They have a certain reverence to them too, a hushed murmur as people move slowly around the bookshop.

I must admit that I have never been to Sotheran’s, but next time I go to London it is going to be on my list of bookshops that I visit. I probably won’t be able to afford anything, but from reading this book by Oliver Darkshire, it sounds like a wonderful place to visit for an hour or so.

I really enjoyed this insight into the strange world of the rare bookseller. It is not a conventional career choice by any means and the people that work in these bookshops are unique, to say the least. Darkshire’s prose is reasonable and there are moments that made me really laugh. What I really enjoyed is his insight into the human characters that come here seeking those rare books that have eluded them until this point. An essential read for any book collector.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one's really really really funny. Sort of Black Books meets David Sedaris? The most joyous reading experience I've had for a long time. Would highly recommend.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely visit into the rarefied world of the antiquarian book seller.

[Cici · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I got further and further into this book – my frustrations grew that a lot of the stories felt unfinished and unconnected. It certainly felt a bit too anecdotal for my tastes.

I think I’d take one step into Sotheran’s – in the search of an Iliad (not just to smell) – and feel immediately unwelcome.

I’d have love to known more — and felt the author holding back a lot. Especially since the ‘Note from the Author’s Supervisor’ noted so much about Oliver’s masterful running of their Twitter, I expected to learn more about it.

Felt like a rollercoaster that never quite got high enough after 49 bumps.

[Banshee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was relaxing to listen tot different anecdotes from the life of a bookshop, its employees and clients. The book was also very informative and I learned a lot about second-hand book, and especially rare book, industry.

On the other hand, I expected something a bit more organized. It was a series of vignettes rather than a coherent whole and I was missing any kind of connecting red thread throughout the chapters.

[Joy D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oliver Darkshire recounts his experiences as an apprentice working at Sotheran's, a centuries-old antiquarian bookshop in London. His memoir is broken into short chapters containing anecdotes about encounters with eccentric customers and the peculiar traditions of the rare book trade. He describes cataloging ancient texts, handling priceless volumes, the store’s unusual storage business methods, authentication processes, book restoration, and common bookselling practices. This is such a fun book. Darkside’s wry (and self-deprecating) humor is a highlight. He is particularly effective at pointing out the differences in many readers’ romantic perceptions of antiquarian work and its rather mundane realities. It is both educational and entertaining. If you are interested in the rare book culture or just looking for a book to brighten your day, this is a good choice.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Upon a Tome is a charming account from Oliver Darkshire of his experience working at Sotheran’s Rare Books and Prints, one of the world’s oldest bookstores.

Founded in York in 1761, Sotheran’s moved to London in 1815, eventually settling into premises in Sackville Street, just off Piccadilly in the heart of London's West End. The store is laid out of three floors, crowded not only with old and rare books, but also magazines, art, maps, and antique bric-a-brac, including a cursed lectern.

Having fled an administrative job in a legal firm to avoid being fired, Oliver joined the staff, aged 20, as a bookseller apprentice. He’d no real intention of remaining in the job for long but stayed for a decade. (Oliver has now left Sotheran’s, moving to the country with his husband, though he still maintains the store’s Twitter feed @Sotherans which he popularised.)

Told through a series of roughly chronological vignettes, Oliver writes warmly about his colleagues, especially his canny late mentor, James; cheekily of his customers categorised as ‘smaugs’, ‘Dracula’s’ or one of a variety of ‘cryptids’; and earnestly of the vagaries of rare bookselling. I found his stories of cataloguing, bookrunners, home visits, ghosts and secret cellars entertaining, and his insights into the store’s trade interesting.

Comparisons to the memoirs of Edinburgh rare bookseller Shaun Bythell are inevitable, and I think Once Upon a Time comes out ahead. Darkshire writes with more evident affection for the store, its trade and its customers, though perhaps that is in part the privilege of being an employee rather than the owner.

A witty, candid, and tender book, Once Upon a Tome is sure to delight bibliophiles everywhere.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fan bloody tastic!

I got it as a library loan yesterday and devoured it over the course of the afternoon and evening.

Oliver Darkshire is bloody funny. He is a natural storyteller and showman.

I howled laughing at the descriptions of cryptids, smaugs and draculas, groaned along at the pompous, entitled, uptight customers who think that shop workers are there to be personal skivvies, and was amazed by the sheer audacity of some book hawkers.

This is one of those books about books that as a booklover I just loved.

Highly recommended.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oliver Darkshire offers readers his take on working in general, working in specific, books - rare and otherwise, ghosts - active and present, inactive and mostly legendary, retail worker v book expert, how he really feels about gourds, unique abandoned desk processing, and stories aplenty about customers and co-bookstore staff.

This read will provide a romp with a bona fide book lover!

*A sincere thank you to Oliver Darkshire, W.W. Norton & Company, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #OnceUponaTome #NetGalley

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told along the same vein as The Diary of a Bookseller with anecdotes that are funnier than Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, this was a great read.

The chapters were titled based on various sections of the bookshop (i.e. natural history), each chapter tells a tale of Darkshire's various experiences working at Henry Sotheran Ltd. Although some might think working at a rare bookshop might be boring, I loved reading stories about weird or exasperating customers, the byzantine layers of history that composed the shop, and Darkshire himself.

If you love books about books, check this one out.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

ONCE UPON A TOME is the memoir of a social misfit with low self esteem .
He has no marketable skills. Grateful but surprised , he's hired as a trainee
in a rare book shop in a no longer stalwart family business. Ancient books,
near-ancient coworkers and a slew of weird regulars haunt the dark,
musty stacks.
Did I mention crumbling structure,off the beaten path ? That too.

A bit repetitive at times but a lighthearted, good-natured diversion.
If you've ever worked a library desk, bookstore register or pretty much any
job in customer service, you just might feel a kinship with this first-time
author.

It's a good read.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A witty and fascinating peek into the antiquarian book trade. Eloquently written and full of interesting book-related facts. Charmingly read by the author himself.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

From its quaint verdigris cover to its layout and chapter designs to its verbiage and style, Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a reads like Victorian fiction or an 18th century picaresque novel. (Indeed, author Oliver Darkshire — what a Dickensian name! — mentions both a rare copy of Charles Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood and cites Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews as a favorite novel. Quite fitting, indeed.) But not so, gentle reader! Instead, Once Upon a Tome is a picture-perfect memoir of Darkshire’s rise from apprentice to rare-book dealer at Sotheran’s in London, possibly the oldest bookstore in the world.

Arcane and amusing, informative without becoming abstruse, this slender book opens a window into a world-famous bookstore, first opened in York in 1761, then relocated to London in 1815. Darkshire discusses the ins and humorous outs of the rare-book trade and makes Henry Sotheran Ltd, Rare Books and Prints sound so inviting. Sotheran’s may contain a literal stuffed owl, but the bookshop never sounds stuffy itself, in contrast to what one would think. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

[Tanya · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a book in the Fantastic Stranglings book club - pick for March 2023. I am surprised I did not enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it was the tone, or the lack of a flowing story or maybe the narrators cynicism.
This book reads as a collection of random tidbits from the perspective of a rare book shop apprentice. He doesn’t seem to love his job nor does he seem particularly skilled at it either. This book is supposed to be funny but I found it extremely dull.
Maybe because I work in a museum and encounter similar people and circumstances?
I’m sure some people would love this, but I couldn’t even finish it.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a prior bookseller, I am always quite entertained by hearing the many travails others have endured, all in the hopes of making a sale and a tad of a profit. The customers (or just lingerers) that fill space and interrupt our reading, some entertaining, some just flat-out annoying. The many quirks of older buildings abound and often leave one wondering if we’re ever truly alone. This book was filled with it all and each reminiscing tale brought fond memories up. Often comical, one can look at the worst day as best they can. (Bibliotoads and all.) it’s a book even one not of the trade can enjoy, but more so if you are.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pretty sure I would like this book just from the title. I know, I know, authors don't have the final say on titles, which is why so many seem so trite or cheesy. This one, even though it involves a pun, seems so friendly, inviting, funny, and playful. As it happens, that also describes the author's writing style. Reading this novel is like sinking into your favorite comfy recliner and giggling regularly.

If you love books, and I assume you do, this book is for you.

[Emma Cathryne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This utterly charming, whimsically exaggerated memoir sweeps the reader into the ancient and idiosyncratic tradition of antiquarian bookselling, a practice which seems to feature as much warding off of possible supernatural threats as it does appraisals and cataloguing. Oliver’s voice is good-natured and entertaining, as he hilariously characterizes his colleagues and their day-to-day adventures with a dry and utterly British humor in the vein of Gaiman or Pratchett. He does a clever job of both romanticizing the practice and revealing some of the more challenging realities of bookselling, such as low pay and disgruntled customers. However, any attempts at dissuading possible future antiquarian career hopefuls are stymied by the immense and obvious love for Sotheran’s rare books borne by Oliver and all his colleagues. This little jewel of a novel will surprise and delight anyone with a literary heart, who can appreciate the enticing smell of old pages and the spiritual silence of a place devoted entirely to the preservation of one of humanity’s oldest and most beloved hobbies: books.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could bump up my rating a half star, I totally would.

This book came into my reading orbit almost by happenstance. I was in a reading lull, still nursing my disappointment of having to be back home after a month-long séjour in my now-favorite city of Montréal. And so it was that I perused digital books available in my library’s collection one sunny, hot afternoon and came across Once Upon a Tome. Admittedly, the title tickled my curiosity, so I did the next thing you do in our age of the internet: I performed an expeditious investigation by way of Google and Goodreads. I’m here leaving a review since the results of my search yielded satisfactory answers.

Anyway, Oliver Darkshire has a talent with words, making the reading of his book delightful. When you consider that he is recounting his time as a rare bookseller—an occupation most of us are unfamiliar with—well, the sum of adept writing (that never became tedious to me) and a peek into a new-to-me world made for a good read.

What really endeared me to this story is Darkshire’s heartfelt observation of the nature of everyday work and the people who populate the landscape of said labor. Oftentimes, I let life wrap me up in its details, and I forget how beautiful the whole absurdity of living is. This story may make you remember to stop, look around, and appreciate what you have. It certainly did for me.