Voltaire & Rousseau Bookshop — Local services in Great Britain

I've been going here off and on (spent decades in London) for at least 50 years and never found a better bookshop anywhere in Europe, US etc. It is just perfect for me - matches my brain - a bit of everything but not necessarily organised or disciplined. I'm not interested in 1st editions or "prize" captures although I'm sure this is a venue for those too. I just love wandering at random, finding quirky revelations which may have been "cool" once or not. My political/historical education owes more to this place and the Mitchell Library than any school/degree course I attended. I don't believe in heaven but if I did this would be it. We wandered into a bookshop in Eastbourne decades ago (Camillas I think) which had a chaotic but warming ambience and, when I mentioned it reminded me of V&R, the owner admitted that V&R had been an inspiration. Get in there if you haven't been and drag your children, friends and passers-by in too - it is fantastic! Highly...

You can always find something interesting in here. For my dissertation i found tons of books in here and my dissertation was quite obscure, I found finding material difficult until I came in here and found tons. I bought as many books as I could physically carry. There is so many hidden gems to find in here, you just have to look but that's the magic of this place. It is very very decently priced, you can find nice books for mere pennies. I love the old book smell. There is also a very cute cat who hangs about lounging on a tower of books, such a heartwarming image. Visiting here is an absolute must especially for students but any lover of quality literature...

Imagine a cave filled with books, where narrow paths wind through towering stacks of volumes on the floor, with shelves packed with even more books lining the walls behind them. It can be a bit of an adventure finding exactly what you're looking for, but the joy is in the unexpected discoveries you stumble upon.

It's a bit off the beaten path, but I've always found it to be well worth the visit. I've been going there for as long as I can recall; I believe I was first introduced to it by an art school lecturer sometime in the early 1980s. Remarkably, the place hasn't changed much at all...