Friday 30 December 2011

Further Adventures of a Bibliophile!

After a day of rest and reading, my wife and I were off again, this time to the sea-side town of Folkestone, known for its cliff-side walk (and one of the best public children’s playgrounds I have ever seen).


My father-in-law had mentioned that the town had an interesting book shop that I might want to investigate. How right he was!
Marrin’s Bookshop is a bibliophile’s dream.  Situated in the ground floor of a Victorian house, the shop consists of three small rooms, crowded with overflowing bookshelves and packed glass cases. In one cramped little room, I found books stacked neatly all around a coal burning fire. There were no junky paperbacks in this shop. All of the books were little treasures in their own way: first-editions, rare works, beautiful bindings.  I easily spent an hour in those small rooms and would have stayed longer if my purse could have handled it.  As it was, I came away with a pair of finds. One, I cannot discuss in an open forum. The other is an 1852 life of King Alfred, written by a German and bound in handsome, if worn, green leather. I’m sure it will merit a closer look in a future post.

Should you ever find yourself in the town of Folkestone, make sure you take the chance to visit Marrin’s. If you love books, you will not be disappointed.

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