Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise is painted over the doorway of the bookshop on 37, Rue Bucherie Paris that looks like something from a previous time with books spilling onto the street outside and with books stacked in heaps on the floor of tiny dimly lit cramped rooms and on shelves right up to the rafters.
Shakespeare & Co was the name of the store that was started in 1919 by Sylvia Beach. A combination of a lending library and bookstore it specialized in books in the English language and as such became a haven for writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Man Ray, James Joyce and others who found the bookstore a convivial place to meet, read and relax in Paris. Books that were banned in England and the USA at the time such as Lady Chatterleys Lover by D.H. Lawrence and Ulysses by James Joyce were available in the store and in fact it was Sylvia Beach who first published Ulysses. The store thrived as a focal point for English literary culture in Paris till 1941 when it was closed.
In 1951 a store selling English books was opened by George Whitman on the Left Bank across from Notre Dame and kilometer zero, at the centre of Paris called Le Mistral in the same format; as a bookstore and a free lending library. He allowed and still allows travellers, young writers, artists and poets to lodge in exchange for cleaning and lending a hand in the bookstore. As it was the only free lending library in Paris focusing on English literary works a stream of writers such as Allen Ginsburg, Anais Nin, William Boroughs, Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, James Baldwin and others found their way to the bookstore to read, write, give readings and even live there. The stores name was changed to Shakespeare & Co after the death of Sylvia Beach in 1962. She willed most of her collection of books and the name of her legendary bookstore to George Whitman, the current owner of the store.
George Whitman continues to foster young writers and poets and a stream of current writers such as Marjane Satrapy, Jung Chang, Paul Austen and David Hare have found the store a haven of inspiration with its eclectic atmosphere. Regular activities at the store include Sunday tea, poetry / book readings that take place outside the store and writers meetings. Festival & Co. a Shakespeare themed biennial literary festival has been introduced by the stores current manager Sylvia Whitman. This usually features several well known literary personalities who present topics for discussion with the audience.
Lodgers are still taken in and are expected to help in the store for two hours a day. They are also encouraged to read a book a day. The store is open all days of the year from twelve noon to twelve midnight. Many who visited the store in their youth return as adults to find the store unaltered by the passing years.
A juxtaposition of the art deco grandeur of the original 1928 hotel and modern concepts and conveniences, Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris has emerged from its renovation by designer Philippe Starck with chic smart spaces and attention grabbing amenities and facilities. With several talk of the town aspects to it from its red tinged entrance to the well conceived rooms, outstanding bathrooms, beautifully decorated restaurants, well placed pieces of contemporary art and the Clarins spa with the biggest hotel pool in Paris, this
luxury hotel Paris has captured the smart and trendy spirit of the city. Combined with warm and friendly service it has reinvented itself into one of the much admired
Palace hotels Paris .
