Midhurst isn't far from me, but it's also not particularly close. It's somewhere I've always known about, but never really explored. Googling 'local' bookshops threw up this gem, and gave me a real reason to venture into the small town.
The town is beautiful, it's full of Tudor buildings and I'm a big sucker for Tudor buildings. Midhurst has retained its individual character and Wheeler's isn't the only independent shop.
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| Cowdray Ruins |
The bookshop is equally great, and its got to be a new favorite. It mixes new titles and second hand books and while the in-print selection is slightly smaller it gets a MASSIVE thumbs up. They had all the recently hyped books, and some old classics, and many many beautiful editions. I found this amazing copy of Ann Veronica by H. G. Wells published by The Orion Publishing Group
Just look at that newspaper print dust jacket! Tono-Bungay, The History of Mr Polly, Love and Mr Lewisham, and Kips have all been printed in this style too. The folds in the front and back have separate 'articles' for the blurb and Author bio, while the bulk of the cover has an extract from the first chapter. Underneath the cover is slick and plain black with shiny gold lettering on the spine. I can't tell you much about the book yet, but Ann is supposed to be a strong female character who was ahead of her time. H. G. Wells is an author I've been meaning to read for a while, I can't wait to get started on this beauty.
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| The main in-print fiction section |
There was also a really delightful children's section, with both mine, and my brothers old favorites. (Hairy Mclary and Ant and Bee if you're after a spot of family trivia) Unrecognized titles suggests that they're keeping up with more recent releases too. The children's section also has a rocking horse!
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| Children's section and rocking horse at the back / right hand side, non fiction at the front. |
The whole shop felt really homely with comfy chairs and big tables, and it helped to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It's full of old beams and little nooks and has an upstairs that holds the majority of the second hand books. There are lots and lots of books in the shop, but they're nicely spaced out, and its stops the browsing experience from being overwhelming.
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| One of the upstairs rooms |
The staff were also really friendly and the whole shopping experience was really enjoyable. I definitely plan to go back, and I really can't recommend the shop enough if you happen to be near by.
Visit TheWheeler's Bookshops Websiteor search their book listings here.
Have you been to any great bookshops recently? If you have let me know!
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