Shakespeare and Company: This Iconic Paris Bookstore Has a Secret That’s Hosted 30,000 Writers

Ever heard of a bookstore where you can stay the night surrounded by literary giants? In Paris, one legendary spot has welcomed thousands of writers, offering them not just books but a bed - and a chance to be part of its extraordinary story.

Shakespeare and Company is certainly a beloved part of Paris’s literary history. Located on rue de la Bûcherie, right by the Seine and facing Notre-Dame, this English-language bookshop has drawn writers, readers, and dreamers since it first opened its doors in 1951.

George Whitman, an American who loved books and adventure, founded Shakespeare and Company. He had traveled through the U.S., Mexico, and Central America during the Great Depression with just $40. On his travels, he often relied on the kindness of strangers. This experience influenced the motto he chose for his bookstore: “Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.”

The shop itself sits in a building from the 1600s that was once a monastery. George liked to joke that he was the last monk, calling himself the “frère lampier,” or the one who lights the lamps.

At first, George named the shop Le Mistral, but he changed it to Shakespeare and Company in 1964 to honor Sylvia Beach, a bookseller he admired. Beach had opened the original Shakespeare and Company in 1919 on rue de l’Odéon. Her shop was a home base for famous writers like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It closed during World War II after she refused to sell a book to a Nazi officer.

George’s version of Shakespeare and Company became its own kind of legend. Writers and artists who visited or stayed at the shop included Allen Ginsberg, Anaïs Nin, Richard Wright, and Henry Miller. The tradition of hosting guests continues even now. These visitors are called “Tumbleweeds,” a name George chose because they drift in and out, like the wind.

Tumbleweeds sleep on narrow beds tucked between bookshelves and help out in the shop. In return, they’re asked to read a book a day and write a one-page autobiography. Over 30,000 people have passed through, leaving behind stories and memories that fill the shop’s archives.

George’s only daughter, Sylvia Whitman, named after Sylvia Beach, grew up surrounded by books and travelers. She returned to the shop as an adult in 2002 and took over in 2006, following George’s wishes. He once wrote on the shop’s shutters, “Each monastery had a frère lampier… I have been doing this for fifty years. Now it is my daughter’s turn.”

Under Sylvia’s leadership, the bookstore expanded its reach. She started literary festivals and created a publishing arm. In 2011, the store launched the Paris Literary Prize for unpublished novellas.

Shakespeare and Company has appeared in movies like Before Sunset and Midnight in Paris and still hosts weekly events, drawing well-known authors such as Zadie Smith and Philip Pullman. The shop holds a special place in the hearts of book lovers everywhere. It’s a space where new stories begin, and old ones are shared.

George Whitman’s legacy was honored when he was named Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2006 for his dedication to the arts. When he passed away at 98 in 2011, he was laid to rest at Père Lachaise Cemetery, joining the ranks of the writers and artists he admired, cementing his place as a cherished figure in Paris’s literary world.