Shakespeare and Company bookstore has had a long history involving two different owners and three locations in Paris over the last century. It was one of only four bookshops in Paris at the start of the 20th century that sold and lent out English books, and opened at its first location in 1919, though the second location is the focus of this point of interest.[1] Owner Sylvia Beach was an American expatriate and had her second store location at 12 Rue de L'odeon open until 1941 with the onset of the second world war.[2] This bookshop was also a lending library, located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood during the 1920's, described as a "scruffy, bohemian part of the city."[3] Ernest Hemingway in his piece "A Moveable Feast" provides a description of the second location of Shakespeare and Company. He writes of how "on a cold, windswept street, this was a warm, cheerful place with a big stove in winter, tables and shelves of books, new books in the window, and photographs on the wall of famous writers both dead and living."[4] Sylvia Beach did not even have a cataloguing system or index cards in the store, but rather kept track of which books she lent out and which ones were sold.[5] The store was also a club for literary enthusiasts and greatly contributed to the spread of fresh and modern views on writing. Today the bookshop has been turned into a boutique as the once scrubby and bohemian neighbourhood has now resulted in a chic area of Paris.[6] The bookstore also served a variety of purposes as it was a meeting place, lending library, bookstore, clearing house, post office, and an "activity centre of the greats and soon-to-be greats of the literary world.[7]

[1] Rendall, Chloe. "Shakespeare and Company." Shakespeare and Company | Modernist Archives Publishing Project. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.modernistarchives.com/business/shakespeare-and-company.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Zaleski, Erin. "In Paris, The Lost Generation's Lost Bookstore." The Daily Beast. July 04, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-paris-the-lost-generations-lost-bookstore.

[4] Rendall, Chloe. "Shakespeare and Company." Shakespeare and Company | Modernist Archives Publishing Project. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.modernistarchives.com/business/shakespeare-and-company.

[5] Beach, Sylvia. Shakespeare and Company. Harcourt, 1959.

[6] Zaleski, Erin. "In Paris, The Lost Generation's Lost Bookstore." The Daily Beast. July 04, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-paris-the-lost-generations-lost-bookstore.

[7] Fitch, Noel. "Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company: Port of Call for American Expatriates." Washington State University. Research Studies 33, no. 4 (January 1965): 197–207. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=31h&AN=46005592&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Shakespeare and Company became a spot during the roaring twenties where anyone could gather and devour literature regardless of social class. With the lending library locals in particular could browse and not feel pressured to buy a book since English and American books were expensive after they were converted into French currency.[1] This bookstore provided an afternoon where families could spend their leisure time and read as a form of entertainment since Sylvia Beach made sure literature was accessible for everyone. Citizens could also borrow books if they became a member and indulge in a variety of periodicals and modern releases such as James Joyce's Ulysses. They were able to borrow two books at a time for two weeks maximum, therefore making literature something that many locals could access and expand their interests.[2] Beach in her memoir even wrote that a membership card was so valuable that it equated a passport which implies how much literature meant to not only authors but also possibly the working class.[3] Various authors also gathered in the bookshop, Syliva Beach becoming friends with Hemingway, Joyce, Stein, and Fitzgerald during a revolutionary time in Paris regarding literature and the arts. This "Anglo-American literary gathering in Paris" flourished with international writers spreading and combining new and exciting literary ideas.[4] This site is included in the tour because it is another form of entertainment in Paris during the early 20th century as literature and its revival was a crucial element during this time of change and innovation. Bookshops such as Sylvia Beach's helped to define the 1920's in particular and spread modern ideas.

[1] Morrill, Cody and Hugh Ford. Sylvia Beach. Gale, 2005. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.H1420062062&site=eds-live&scope=site.

[2] Beach, Sylvia. Shakespeare and Company. Harcourt, 1959, 22.

[3] Ibid., 22.

[4] Morrill, Cody and Hugh Ford. Sylvia Beach. Gale, 2005. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.H1420062062&site=eds-live&scope=site, 294.

Beach, Sylvia. Shakespeare and Company. Harcourt, 1959.

Fitch, Noel. "Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company: Port of Call for American Expatriates." Washington State University. Research Studies 33, no. 4 (January 1965): 197–207. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=31h&AN=46005592&site=eds-live&scope=site.

McBride, Kate. "SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY: Turning the Page." France Today 27, no. 4 (April 2012): 17–18. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=74537540&site=eds- live&scope=site.

Morrill, Cody and Hugh Ford. Sylvia Beach. Gale, 2005. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login? url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.H1420062062&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Rendall, Chloe. "Shakespeare and Company." Shakespeare and Company | Modernist Archives Publishing Project. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.modernistarchives.com/business/ shakespeare-and-company.

Zaleski, Erin. "In Paris, The Lost Generation's Lost Bookstore." The Daily Beast. July 04, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-paris-the-lost-generations- lost-bookstore.