Don’t apologise for not writing anything on Substack for some time. Most people write too much here, contributing to the word-swirl that surrounds us. I’m a more humdrum bibliophile myself but I enjoy your excursions. Talking of Sussex, is that extraordinary bookshop at Eastbourne still there where books are so tightly stacked that some of them can no longer be seen?
Re your invasion war novel encounters, I imagine at some point the dealer would have been offering the rare 1871 6penny pamphlet novella that kickstarted the whole genre, The Battle of Dorking. Sold 100,000 copies in first 3 months of publication, caused a storm and launched a whole new area of fiction. Worth a read!
Don’t apologise for not writing anything on Substack for some time. Most people write too much here, contributing to the word-swirl that surrounds us. I’m a more humdrum bibliophile myself but I enjoy your excursions. Talking of Sussex, is that extraordinary bookshop at Eastbourne still there where books are so tightly stacked that some of them can no longer be seen?
It is, I believe – time to get back there. There's one near Edgware abroad with a similar "aesthetic".. My favourite kind, I fear.
Re your invasion war novel encounters, I imagine at some point the dealer would have been offering the rare 1871 6penny pamphlet novella that kickstarted the whole genre, The Battle of Dorking. Sold 100,000 copies in first 3 months of publication, caused a storm and launched a whole new area of fiction. Worth a read!
Thanks, David!