The next time you have half an hour or so to spare at Victoria Station, don’t waste time browsing the magazines and paperback bestsellers at WHSmith. Instead walk 5 minutes over to Ebury Street and linger in the lovely atmosphere of Belgravia Books.
Opened September 2011, it’s a little gem of a bookshop, with a well-curated collection of familiar fiction and non-fiction titles alongside more unusual fare – it has a special selection of translated books, gift-quality booksets (His Dark Materials, classic fiction) plus that rare find: a children’s section that’s delightful to browse.
I’ve been in twice since happening upon it a couple of weeks ago, when browsing sessions tipped temptingly into buying: an English translation of the Dutch work Amuse-Bouche by Arnon Grunberg, a small hardback of The Elegance of the Hedgehog with an attached ribbon placeholder, an issue of “Bookforum” featuring Joan Didion.
Despite its cozy size, it manages to squeeze in a few chairs for some stolen moments of reading. And should you care for a cup of tea, they’ll happily make one for you, free of charge.
Belgravia Books
59 Ebury Street
London SW1W 0NZ
020 7259 9336
www.belgraviabooks.com
Thanks for your comment on my blog: I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one. Thanks also for this post. I don’t live very far from Victoria and I didn’t know that such a bookshop existed!!!How do you find such adresses?