The Persephone Bookshops

59 Lamb's Conduit Street London WC1N 3NB 0207 242 9292

	© David Gentleman

The Persephone shop and office is in Lamb's Conduit Street.  Our Grade II Listed building was built in 1702-3 and for some years was on the northern edge of London. The street was developed by Nicholas Barbon, an economist, quoted by Marx on the second page of Das Capital, who invented fire insurance after the Great Fire of London. Formerly called Red Lion Street, the present name derives from the conduit provided by a William Lamb, from which water ran through open wooden pipes down to the city. 'Plenty of panelling and staircases of this date remain behind some of the later refronting (eg. No. 59)' comments the modern Pevsner, praising 'a lively local shoppping street, a rarity now in inner London, with enjoyable C19 shopfronts.'

The basement remains virtually unchanged (even the beautiful twisted balusters so typical of Barbon's buildings are still in place) and, for reasons of cost, will remain so. The ground floor is now the office of Persephone Books, with the wooden tables and bentwood chairs in place, the mangle in the west-facing york-paved yard (we resisted its going in a container to New Jersey), the shop front painted Persephone grey.

(nearest tube stations Russell Square and Holborn). Here is a map of where we are.

109 Kensington Church Street London W8 7LN 0207 221 2201

Our new bookshop.

(nearest tube stations Notting Hill Gate and High Street Kensington). Here is a map of where we are.

All our books are available in both shops (although very occasionally a title goes out of print for a few weeks while we reprint). We also sell the Persephone Book Bag for £5; this is a lovely dark grey with our logo on it in black, and it has particularly comfortable handles.  It is available by mail order, please include £2 postage

The Persephone Mugs designed by Annabel Munn are only available from our shops.

And don't forget our cassette or CD of Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey read by Miriam Margolyes; our Persephone greetings cards; or our Views of Bloomsbury postcards by Ann Usborne. We also have a Persephone pinney, apron, dressing gown and jacket in The Far Cry fabric. Apart from the jacket, these may also be sent by post as well.