Founding & Sylvia beach
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1919 by Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate in Paris. The bookstore quickly became a hub for English and American writers living in or visiting Paris during the 1920s. Notable figures like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce frequented the store, making it a vibrant center of literary culture.


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From the first day the store opened, writers, artists, and intellectuals were invited to sleep among the shop's shelves and piles of books on small beds that doubled as benches during the day.at doubled as benches during the day
"He was so simple and unassuming, that, instead of being overcome in the presence of the writer, who was undoubtedly the greatest of his time, I felt quite at ease with him. It was always that way."
-Sylvia Beach on James Joyce-
"He was so simple and unassuming, that, instead of being overcome in the presence of the writer, who was undoubtedly the greatest of his time, I felt quite at ease with him. It was always that way."
-Sylvia Beach on James Joyce-
















James Joyce
One of the most significant contributions of Shakespeare & Company was the publication of James Joyce's groundbreaking novel, "Ulysses," in 1922. Beach took the risk of publishing this controversial work, which went on to become a masterpiece of modernist literature.






Reopening And George Whitman
After the war, in 1951, another literary enthusiast named George Whitman opened a bookstore called "Le Mistral" in Paris. Whitman's store was inspired by Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company, and he later took the name and legacy of the original store, renaming his shop "Shakespeare & Company" in honour of Beach's contribution to the literary world.

'Truly the poorest ma is the richest if he but knows how to extract the treasures from books, from nature, and from humanity"
-George Whitman-












Tumbleweeds
During the 1950s and 1960s, Shakespeare & Company became a sanctuary for Beat Generation writers like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs. The store provided them with a place to write, read, and engage in intellectual discussion.
Founding & Sylvia beach
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1919 by Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate in Paris. The bookstore quickly became a hub for English and American writers living in or visiting Paris during the 1920s. Notable figures like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce frequented the store, making it a vibrant center of literary culture.




***
From the first day the store opened, writers, artists, and intellectuals were invited to sleep among the shop's shelves and piles of books on small beds that doubled as benches during the day.at doubled as benches during the day




James Joyce
One of the most significant contributions of Shakespeare & Company was the publication of James Joyce's groundbreaking novel, "Ulysses," in 1922. Beach took the risk of publishing this controversial work, which went on to become a masterpiece of modernist literature.
Reopening And George Whitman
After the war, in 1951, another literary enthusiast named George Whitman opened a bookstore called "Le Mistral" in Paris. Whitman's store was inspired by Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company, and he later took the name and legacy of the original store, renaming his shop "Shakespeare & Company" in honour of Beach's contribution to the literary world.




















Tumbleweeds
During the 1950s and 1960s, Shakespeare & Company became a sanctuary for Beat Generation writers like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs. The store provided them with a place to write, read, and engage in intellectual discussion.
Founding & Sylvia beach
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1919 by Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate in Paris. The bookstore quickly became a hub for English and American writers living in or visiting Paris during the 1920s. Notable figures like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce frequented the store, making it a vibrant center of literary culture.




***
From the first day the store opened, writers, artists, and intellectuals were invited to sleep among the shop's shelves and piles of books on small beds that doubled as benches during the day.at doubled as benches during the day




James Joyce
One of the most significant contributions of Shakespeare & Company was the publication of James Joyce's groundbreaking novel, "Ulysses," in 1922. Beach took the risk of publishing this controversial work, which went on to become a masterpiece of modernist literature.
Reopening And George Whitman
After the war, in 1951, another literary enthusiast named George Whitman opened a bookstore called "Le Mistral" in Paris. Whitman's store was inspired by Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company, and he later took the name and legacy of the original store, renaming his shop "Shakespeare & Company" in honour of Beach's contribution to the literary world.




















Tumbleweeds
During the 1950s and 1960s, Shakespeare & Company became a sanctuary for Beat Generation writers like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs. The store provided them with a place to write, read, and engage in intellectual discussion.
Thank you for stepping into the world of Shakespeare and Co.
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Mariko Sharashenidze