When I was in London recently, I made a list of bookstores to film for the Book Lovers Series channel. Daunt Books Marylebone on High Street was on that list but little could I have guessed that this bookshop will become one of my favorite bookstores of all time. And considering the number of bookshops I’ve visited in the last few decades, that says quite a lot.
What made Daunt Books Marylebone stands out from all the other amazing independent bookstores in London (if not the rest of the world) is that at its heart, Daunt Books Marylebone is a travel bookshop specializing in travel-related books. All the books at the shop (including guides, travel journals, history and literature) are arranged by country, making book-browsing so much more fun. For example, if you’re interested in Cornwall, there’s a whole section of books set in or are about Cornwall. You can even purchase book collections based on locations, such as The Cornwall Bundle, The Scotland Bundle, or The London Bundle.
Founded in 1990 by former banker James Daunt, Daunt Books’ Marylebone High Street was the first in a series of Daunt Books locations. The Marylebone branch I visited is located in a former Edwardian bookshop lined with William Morris prints and oak shelves filled with gorgeous books, all lit by tastefully-placed wall lamps and skylights.
The older section of the Marylebone shop, completed in 1912, was originally an antiquarian bookshop called Francis Edwards, rumored to be the first custom-built bookshop in the world. Today, Daunt Books has many other branches in the U.K., including in Holland Park, Cheapside, Hampstead, Summertown, and Belsize Park.
After filming the Daunt Books Marylebone episode for the Book Lovers Series, I spent another hour at the bookshop browsing for my London book haul. It was one of the loveliest afternoons spent at a bookshop in recent memory!
Daunt Books Marylebone
83-84 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 4QW
Daunt Books Holland Park
112-114 Holland Park Avenue
London W11 4UA
Daunt Books Cheapside
61 Cheapside
London EC2V 6AX
Daunt Books Hampstead
51 South End Road
London NW3 2QB
Daunt Books Belsize Park
193 Haverstock Hill
London NW3 4QL
Daunt Books Summertown
247-249 Banbury Road
Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7HN
The Book Lovers Series 