A few Christmases ago, my parents gifted me a very special treat – a voucher to spend at Hatchard’s of Picadilly, London’s oldest bookshop.

Founded in 1797 by Mr. John Hatchard, it holds a royal warrant, making it the bookseller to the Royal Households.

The shop is spread over five stories. It has a series of sweeping staircases and around every turn, it’s crammed to the rafters with bookshelves and tables laden with interesting and intriguing titles!

Hatchard’s wonderful window displays have a way of making a person stop and say: “Oooh!” (Well, I mean, the shop does happen to be located right next door to Fortnum and Mason’s, London’s most prestigious department store – so it has to keep up with the Jones’). Even if you’re not an avid bookworm, you’d probably find it hard not to be irresistibly drawn in through the doors, like a moth to a flame, just to have a browse around.

It might sound a little crazy, but the first time I went to spend my voucher, (Christmas 2025) I came home empty-handed! I was quite overwhelmed and spent so long just browsing in all the different sections, that I simply couldn’t choose! I mean where do you even start? But it certainly wasn’t a wasted journey. For starters, I’m so glad that I happened to see the shop at Christmas time – it was well worth the trip, just for the gorgeous garlands festooned across the staircases and the magical Narnia display in the shop window.

It also turned out to be a great chance to sort of take everything in, and then go away and have a very long think! After all, I wanted to spend wisely!

Today, I decided it was high time to venture back, and actually buy a book or two!

And I did!

Can you guess which children’s classic I came back with?

I also couldn’t resist this spin-off Pride & Prejudice story about Mary Bennett after having recently enjoyed the BBC adaptation of it!

I also bought a fun kids book, about a Cat Burglar called: ‘Atticus Claw!’ (How cute does that sound?). The solving of cosy mysteries and crimes is definitely a genre I’d like to learn how to write- and what better way to learn, than to read, read, read, hey?

On my way home, I even popped next door to buy some biscuits from Fortnum’s – I mean, it would have been ridiculous to miss such a golden opportunity, don’t you think?!

Needless to say, I came home a very happy lass.

Tell me, what section of the bookshop would you have headed to first?

I hope you enjoyed this little peek around Hatchards. If you’re ever in London, it’s a must!