Keith Fawkes Bookshop

This is the kind of second hand bookshop you find in fiction. Small, pokey and full of dark corners, there is barely an inch of surface space in the shop that’s not piled high with books. From niche subjects, to rare books, to your basic airport paperback, this is a warren of possible discovery.

Discovery is, however, the word as there is no traceable filing system and no guarantee what stock will be there on any given day. For most browsers though, this is all part of the charm. The shop is hidden down Flask Walk. behind dusty green-framed windows and with a low door leading to the gloomy interior. The first thing that hits customers is a shelf of fading old Penguin paperbacks, setting the tone for what’s beyond.

Run by Keith Fawkes, who is usually to be found behind a stack of books somewhere in the shop, the stock is carefully and knowledgeably chosen. Keith himself is always keen to help anyone venturing in from the street outside. His knowledge of literature is wide ranging and he is never short of a comment or opinion. Eccentric, talkative and with a genuine interest in both people and books, it is almost worth paying a visit purely for the conversation.

Over the weekend, the space in front of the shop is swamped with antiques, and visitors should expect to wade through everything from mahogany cabinets, questionable art, old tea sets and a lot of differently shaped sherry glasses. Although actually part of a different business, these contribute to the character of the shop.

The shop is over 40 years old, and beyond the general flotsam and jetsam of literature, its specialty is in buying and selling antique books. The prices are written by hand and often astoundingly reasonable with first edition Salingers going for £3.50 and a thick volume of Alan Bennett’s letters once mispriced at £1. ‘It just goes to show,’ Keith says in reference to this occasion, ‘you never know when you’re going to land upon a bargain.’