Heywood Hill

Novelist Evelyn Waugh once quipped that the Heywood Hill was ‘a centre of all that was left of fashionable and intellectual London’ and it seems to have remained in this central position since then. The Mayfair bookshop was first opened by Heywood Hill in 1936 and has had a rather illustrious history. Writer and eldest of the Mitford sisters Nancy Mitford worked here during the war and her time at the shop was a big influence on her work. Always at the heart of London literary life, a scene of John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is set in the shop. Set over two storeys in a Geoergian townhouse, the shop stocks a diverse mix of books, catering to all tastes and sensibilities, from highbrow collectors to young children. In a digital age, the shop’s loyal, global customer base and rich knowledge of books sets it apart from online competitors.