Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller

For anyone who has ever wandered into an old bookshop and felt a sense of reverence and mystery, Oliver Darkshire’s “Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller,” is an absolute must-read. With self-deprecating wit and a genuine love for the printed word, Darkshire pulls back the heavy velvet curtain on the delightfully eccentric world of rare bookselling, revealing a reality that is far more chaotic, and infinitely more charming, than one might imagine.

The book chronicles Darkshire’s accidental apprenticeship at Henry Sotheran Ltd., one of London’s oldest and most respected bookshops. Armed with a pessimistic outlook and a wardrobe ill-suited for the dusty reality of the job, he stumbles through the arcane practices of a trade that time seems to have forgotten.

“It’s my belief that anyone worth knowing enjoys spending time in a bookshop.”

What truly makes “Once Upon a Tome” shine is Darkshire’s voice. He is a masterful storyteller, blending dry, British humor with insightful observations about the nature of books, the people who cherish them, and the glorious madness that binds them all together.

This isn’t just a book for bibliophiles, though they will undoubtedly find much to love within its pages. It’s a story about finding your place in an unlikely world, a workplace comedy of the highest order, and a love letter to the enduring power of physical books in a digital age. Darkshire reminds us that behind every rare book is a human story—of the author who wrote it, the hands that bound it, and the many readers who have cherished it over the centuries.