Shakespeare and Company
An independent English-language bookstore and literary meeting place on Paris's Left Bank.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Shakespeare and Company is an independent English-language bookstore at 37 rue de la Bûcherie in Paris's 5th arrondissement, close to the Seine, Notre-Dame and the Île de la Cité. Founded in 1951 by American ex-serviceman George Whitman, the business originally operated as Le Mistral before adopting the Shakespeare and Company name in 1964. The name honored Sylvia Beach's earlier Paris bookstore, which had opened in 1919, become an important center of Anglo-American literary life, and closed during the Second World War. Whitman regarded his own shop as a continuation of Beach's literary and hospitable tradition rather than simply as a commercial successor. The shop occupies premises associated with a former sixteenth-century monastery and became a gathering point for expatriate writers, artists, travelers and readers. Its early literary visitors included figures associated with the Beat Generation, among them Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and William S. Burroughs. Other writers and cultural figures connected with the store or its events have included James Baldwin, Anaïs Nin, Julio Cortázar, Richard Wright, Lawrence Durrell, Max Ernst, Bertolt Brecht, William Saroyan, Terry Southern and members of The Paris Review circle. The bookstore's cultural importance derives as much from this social history as from its inventory. Shakespeare and Company sells new and second-hand English-language books and also functions as an antiquarian bookseller and a free public reading library. Its interior is known for narrow rooms, shelves, reading spaces and beds placed among the books. Aspiring writers and artists, known as Tumbleweeds, have traditionally been allowed to stay overnight in exchange for helping with work at the shop, reading and contributing a short autobiography to the store's archives. The arrangement reflects Whitman's informal philosophy of hospitality and his description of the store as a socialist utopia disguised as a bookstore. The shop has reported that more than 30,000 people stayed there over the decades. The business has also served as a base for literary publishing and discussion. Periodicals associated with the premises have included Merlin, Two Cities, Paris Voices, Frank and George Whitman's Paris Magazine. In 2003, Whitman's daughter Sylvia Whitman began helping manage the store, later taking over its operation. She continued the emphasis on events, workshops, reading groups and community programming, while developing newer initiatives such as FestivalandCo, a literary festival launched in 2003. The store's regular programming has included Sunday tea gatherings, writers' workshops and author events. In 2010, Shakespeare and Company launched The Paris Literary Prize for unpublished novellas, supported by the de Groot Foundation. The initiative gave the bookstore a role in identifying and encouraging emerging fiction writers. The business also expanded into hospitality when it opened a neighboring café in 2015 in partnership with Bob's Bake Shop. The primarily vegetarian café added vegan and gluten-free choices and fulfilled a long-standing ambition George Whitman had pursued for decades. The bookstore faced a severe trading shock during the COVID-19 crisis. In 2020, it reported that sales had fallen by approximately 80 percent from their pre-lockdown level. After closing for two months during France's first lockdown and initially not selling online in accordance with advice from the Syndicat de la Librairie française, the store appealed to readers to place orders through its reopened website. Despite this disruption, Shakespeare and Company remains an active bookstore, café, reading library, event venue and literary landmark. Its continuing identity combines retail, publishing culture, tourism and a distinctive tradition of welcoming writers and strangers.
History
George Whitman opened an English-language bookstore on Paris's Left Bank in 1951. The shop was initially called Le Mistral and operated from 37 rue de la Bûcherie, a historic site near the Seine and Place Saint-Michel. Whitman was an American ex-serviceman who modeled the enterprise on Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company, the earlier English-language bookstore that had been founded in Paris in 1919 and closed in 1941. Beach's store had been closely associated with the expatriate literary world of interwar Paris and with the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses. Whitman sought to revive that spirit of openness, literary exchange and practical help for writers. The store became a social and literary center during the postwar decades. Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and William S. Burroughs were among its notable visitors, alongside James Baldwin, Anaïs Nin, Julio Cortázar, Richard Wright, Lawrence Durrell, Max Ernst, Bertolt Brecht, William Saroyan and Terry Southern. Editors and contributors linked to The Paris Review also frequented the shop. The premises contained a free reading library and informal sleeping spaces, making the bookstore unusually connected to the everyday lives of travelers and aspiring authors. Whitman called the overnight guests Tumbleweeds. In return for accommodation, they helped in the store, read books and wrote brief autobiographies for its records. The bookstore has estimated that tens of thousands of people stayed there since its founding. In 1958, Sylvia Beach reportedly gave Whitman permission to use the Shakespeare and Company name. The change was made in 1964, following Beach's death and coinciding with the four-hundredth anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. Whitman described the name as a short novel, and the store thereafter became one of Paris's most recognizable literary landmarks. Its motto, displayed above the library entrance, expresses its hospitality toward strangers. The premises also supported literary journals and other publishing activities. Merlin, an avant-garde English-language journal associated with the store, is noted for publishing Samuel Beckett in English. Other periodicals connected with the bookstore included Two Cities, Paris Voices, Frank and Whitman's Paris Magazine. These projects extended the store's role beyond retail into editorial and intellectual life. In 2016, the bookstore published Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart, an illustrated institutional history edited by Krista Halverson. Sylvia Whitman, George's only child, began helping manage the bookstore in 2003 and later became its principal operator. Under her leadership, the business maintained its traditional events while developing new cultural programming. FestivalandCo, founded in 2003, brought writers and artists to a literary festival held in the neighboring Square René-Viviani. The store has also hosted Sunday tea gatherings, workshops and readings featuring contemporary authors. The Paris Literary Prize, launched in 2010 with support from the de Groot Foundation, reinforced the bookstore's commitment to new writing. The first winner was Rosa Rankin-Gee for The Last Kings of Sark; a later prize-winning manuscript was Body Electric by C. E. Smith. In 2015, the bookstore expanded into food service by opening a café in the adjacent former garage with Bob's Bake Shop. George Whitman had pursued the idea of a literary café for many years before the project was realized. The COVID-19 pandemic created a major operational crisis. During France's first lockdown, the bookstore closed for two months and initially did not sell online, following guidance from the national booksellers' trade organization. By October 2020, it said sales had fallen by about 80 percent since March and that its savings had been exhausted. The business encouraged customers to use its reopened website. Shakespeare and Company nevertheless continued as a bookstore, reading library, café and literary venue, preserving an unusual model in which commercial bookselling is inseparable from cultural programming and hospitality.
- 2020
COVID-19 lockdown severely disrupts trading
[1]The bookstore closed during the first French lockdown and later reported an approximately 80 percent sales decline.
- 2016
The bookstore publishes its institutional history
[1]Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart was published under editor Krista Halverson.
- 2015
The Shakespeare and Company Café opens
[1]A neighboring café opened in partnership with Bob's Bake Shop.
- 2011
George Whitman dies
[1]Whitman died at age 98, after which Sylvia Whitman continued the store's operation.
- 2010
The Paris Literary Prize is established
[1]The bookstore launched a competition for unpublished novellas with backing from the de Groot Foundation.
- 2006
George Whitman receives a French cultural honor
[1]Whitman was awarded the rank of Officier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
- 2003
Sylvia Whitman joins the management
[1]George Whitman's daughter began helping manage the bookstore and also founded the FestivalandCo literary festival.
- 1964
Le Mistral becomes Shakespeare and Company
[1]Whitman renamed the shop in tribute to Sylvia Beach's bookstore and in the year marking four centuries since Shakespeare's birth.
- 1951
George Whitman opens Le Mistral
[1]Whitman opened an English-language bookstore at 37 rue de la Bûcherie on Paris's Left Bank.
- 1941
The original Shakespeare and Company closes
[1]Sylvia Beach's bookstore closed during the Second World War.
Products and positioning
A culturally significant independent English-language bookstore combining bookselling, literary hospitality, public programming and Paris tourism.
Bookselling · 1951
New English-language books
The store's core retail offer is a broad selection of new books in English, spanning literary fiction, poetry, history, criticism, travel, children's books and other general-interest categories. The range serves both local English-speaking residents and international visitors seeking English-language titles in Paris.
Bookselling · 1951
Second-hand and antiquarian books
Alongside new titles, Shakespeare and Company sells used and antiquarian books. This part of the offer reinforces the shop's character as a literary treasure-hunting destination and connects its retail activity with the traditions of independent and specialist bookselling.
Literary program · 2010
The Paris Literary Prize
Introduced in 2010, the prize supports unpublished novellas and gives emerging writers a route to recognition. It was backed by the de Groot Foundation, and winning manuscripts included Rosa Rankin-Gee's The Last Kings of Sark and C. E. Smith's Body Electric.
Café · 2015
Shakespeare and Company Café
Opened next door in 2015 with Bob's Bake Shop, the café extends the bookstore's literary hospitality into food service. Its menu has been described as primarily vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options.
Publication · 2016
Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart
Published in 2016 and edited by Krista Halverson, this book documents the bookstore's history through essays, photographs, illustrations, archival material and contributions connected with its literary community.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Pandemic customer-support appeal
France · International online customers
After lockdown restrictions caused a reported 80 percent sales decline, the bookstore encouraged customers to support it by ordering through its reopened website.
Outcome. Reinforced direct online sales as an emergency support channel during the pandemic.
- 2003FestivalandCo
France
Sylvia Whitman founded a biennial literary festival in the adjacent Square René-Viviani. The program brought together writers and artists including Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Jeanette Winterson, Jung Chang and Marjane Satrapi.
Outcome. Established the bookstore as a platform for organized literary festivals in addition to its regular events.
Brand decisions
2020
Reopen online ordering during the pandemicStrategyBackground
The first French lockdown forced the physical shop to close for two months, while sales reportedly fell by approximately 80 percent.
Action taken
After initially not selling online in line with trade-body guidance, the bookstore reopened its website for customer orders and appealed for public support.
Aftermath
Online ordering became an important means of maintaining contact with customers during a severe disruption to physical retail.
Reported sales decline. Approximately 80% lower than before the pandemic (March to October 2020)
2015
Open the neighboring caféProduct launchBackground
George Whitman had pursued the idea of adding a literary café for many years.
Action taken
The bookstore opened a café in a formerly abandoned neighboring garage in partnership with Bob's Bake Shop.
Aftermath
The café broadened the site from a bookstore and library into a combined literary and hospitality destination.
2010
Launch The Paris Literary PrizeOtherBackground
The bookstore sought to extend its support for writers beyond retail and events.
Action taken
It created a competition for unpublished novellas with support from the de Groot Foundation.
Aftermath
The prize gave the store a formal role in discovering and promoting emerging fiction writers.
1964
Adopt the Shakespeare and Company nameStrategyBackground
George Whitman's bookstore had operated as Le Mistral and was modeled on Sylvia Beach's earlier Paris shop.
Action taken
The business was renamed Shakespeare and Company as a tribute to Beach's bookstore and to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth.
Aftermath
The new name established the store's enduring identity as a successor to a major chapter of Anglo-American literary life in Paris.
Recent events
- 2020
Pandemic restrictions cause an 80 percent sales decline[1]
Other
The store reported a sharp fall in sales after France's lockdowns, following a two-month closure and a later reopening of its online ordering service.
- 2015
Shakespeare and Company opens a neighboring café[1]
Product launch
The bookstore opened a café next door in partnership with Bob's Bake Shop, adding primarily vegetarian food and specialist dietary options.
- 2011
George Whitman dies at 98[2]
Leadership change
Founder George Whitman died in December 2011 in the apartment above the bookstore. His daughter Sylvia subsequently continued running the business.
- 2010
Shakespeare and Company launches The Paris Literary Prize[1]
Other
The bookstore introduced a prize for unpublished novellas, with financial support from the de Groot Foundation.
Sources3 sources
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