The Paris Bookseller

The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher is an absorbing biographical novel that tells the story of Sylvia Beach and her iconic Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. Settling in Paris after the end of WWI, Sylvia is at a loss as to what to do with her life. She then befriends Parisian bookstore owner Adrienne Monnier who introduces her into a society consisting of the great literati of the time. Sylvia also discovers that Paris is a haven for those who prefer same sex relationships which have become illegal in other places. She soon decides to open an English bookstore and lending library catering to the many expats and tourists flocking to the city of lights. Before long her business is thriving and her relationship with Adrienne has developed into a deep love affair. Shakespeare and Company becomes the meeting place for many of the soon to be famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. Sylvia’s most important client is James Joyce, whose new book, Ulysses, having been banned in other countries; Joyce has not been able to find a publisher. Sylvia decides to champion this momentous novel and its author by publishing it herself despite never having ventured into the field before. Joyce proves to be a recalcitrant client, making changes to his tome even while it is at the publishers; arguing about profit percentages. Sylvia’s work with Joyce is almost her undoing, financially and emotionally; possibly ending the fragile friendship between herself and Joyce. This wonderful work of fiction is well-researched with a powerful sense of time and place. The Paris of the 1920’s and 30’s comes alive in the author’s skillful hands taking the reader back to Sylvia’s Shakespeare and Company, sitting beside the great writers of the time. I highly recommend this novel to fans of historical fiction, biographical fiction, and the expat world of Paris between the wars. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.