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A sign in the window of Murder One blames the internet for its closure |
Charing Cross Road’s shelf life?
As crime book store closes, neighbouring independent purveyors of literature remain optimistic
“Murder One 1988-2008”, reads the paper cut-out blue plaque in the window of what was the only specialist crime bookshop in the country.
It’s all that remains. The books are as dead as the Victorian snoops and gaslight killers that stalked their pages.
Once a “book lover’s paradise”, boasting more than 20 traders who made it their business to stock rare tomes, out-of-vogue authors and 99p books, the Charing Cross Road shop is now a relic, decimated by rampant bibliocide – the work of the modern day bookburners: the internet, landlords and television tie-ins.
At least that’s one story arc.
But speak to people in the remaining stores, of which there are four, not including Foyles and Blackwell, and a different picture emerges. It’s one of against-the-odds survival – the last stand of the book industry’s war on independent business where plucky shop owners stand spine by spine but ultimately resigned to their fate.
Ask what’s going on and you’re more likely to get a shrug of the shoulders and a “that’s just the way it is”. A sort of disinterested incredulity.
“The internet has been a major factor, but whether that’s what has gone wrong with Shipleys [the specialist art bookshop at 70 Charring Cross Road which closed on Christmas Eve last year] or at Murder One, I’m not quite sure,” says Emily Cleaver, manager of Quinto at number 48, the site of a bookshop since 1905.
“We’re in alright shape. Academics from the universities still pop in, and the tourists still come in looking for Jane Austen or Dickens. We get books from redundant libraries that you just can’t find on the internet. I’d say the road’s identity as a road for books is in danger of disappearing, but I see no reason why a bookshop can’t work today.”
On the street, bad business models and retirement are the only explanations required for the smattering of recent closures. In fact Murder One is still hanging on, running a mail order service from Hoxton Square. The remaining shops prosper through innovation, whether it be publishing, selling collectibles or shuffling the shelves. Quinto completely restocks its ground floor once a month.
As for identifying a downwards trend, the evidence appears to be in doubt. Traders say the road has been in flux ever since the first bookshop opened at the turn of the 20th century. A case of the unreliable narrator trope in real life perhaps?
A member of staff in Koenig Books, an alternative art bookshop, who asked to remain anonymous, said that some employees were angry at the “death notice” plaques.
“It’s like they’re writing our obituary for us. I keep hearing people say the road’s dying, but I don’t get it.
“Bookshops come and go, and that’s the way its always been. Just because there have been two or three closures, everyone’s saying we’re finished. It’s not true. I think people want to write that story, but no one’s ever come in here asking us. We’re doing better than ever.”
And he’s not lying. Ten minutes in the cupboard-sized store yields almost 20 visitors – the majority of whom parted with money. The street has lost a lot of niche stores, that’s not in doubt. Among them Al-Hoda, an Islamic bookshop, Silver Moon, devoted to women’s literature, Zwemmer’s, a specialist bookshop and Penguin books. But shops are hopeful that other book dealers will be drawn to the area, keeping the glut of coffee shops, and herbal medicine chains at the gates for the time being at least.
Gill McMullan, who has managed Any Amount of Books – a store shabby enough to lose days of browsing within – for 18 years, said: “You can talk about the rents, but we are proof that it can work.
“I think the street is having a wobble. Ourselves, we have more people through the door than ever before.”
The Soho Housing Association owns the block. It says housing is its priority, and commercial rents support its role as a social landlord. Board member Philip Evans said: “There have been a number of bookshops closing recently – one due to a business partner retiring and two as a direct result of the poor economic climate.
“We understand that the trading environment is challenging. Supermarkets are heavily discounting books and book sellers face competition from technological advancements.
“We are concerned that the empty shops will detract from the area and have commissioned our managing agents to work with us to define and implement a new strategy.” |
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