Once Upon a Tome, by Oliver Darkshire

June 3, 2026 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 2 ★★★★★

Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
Narrator: Oliver Darkshire
Published by Tantor Media on 4/25/2023
Genres: Memoir
Format: Audiobook
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Chirp
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five-stars

Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761) to apply for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, Darkshire was soon unteetering stacks of first editions and placating the store's resident ghost (the late Mr. Sotheran, hit by a tram).

A novice in this ancient, potentially haunted establishment, Darkshire describes Sotheran's brushes with history (Dickens, the Titanic), its joyous disorganization, and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause the computer to burst into flames. As Darkshire gains confidence and experience, he shares trivia about ancient editions and explores the strange space that books occupy in our lives—where old books often have strong sentimental value, but rarely a commercial one.

By turns unhinged and earnest, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world's oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment.

A collection of short and often funny essays from an antiquarian bookseller

As a young man, Oliver Darkshire stumbled into an apprenticeship and eventual career at Sotheran’s, the oldest antiquarian bookshop in Britain (and arguably in the world.) In Once Upon a Tome, Darkshire details his training and occasional misadventures, describing the shop, the customers, his colleagues, and the world of old books with wry humor, a touch of whimsy, and obvious affection. The descriptions of the shop with its piles of books and boxes, overflowing shelves, and oddments such a stuffed owl will have any lover of antiquarian and second-hand bookshops both nodding in recognition and planning a visit. His descriptions of “cryptids”—odd, quirky, and sometimes spooky customers or sellers who turn up at irregular intervals—had me chuckling as he likened them to otherworldly, fae creatures. All in all, it’s a delightful listen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Note: Darkshire occasionally rushes over a word or phrase, so I don’t recommend increasing the listening speed by much.

Challenges: Audiobook Challenge 2026; COYER 2026: Out to Lunch Again