You might know that I went to Hay-on-Wye (that famous book town) recently and was quite disappointed with the place, I didn’t manage to find any books which I wanted to buy.
So it was a lovely surprise when we came out the east gate of the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, to discover second-hand bookshops which were completely unknown to me. We hadn’t been in that area of Edinburgh before, I think it is called Broughton Road.
As you can see, I bought four:
Silence Observed by Michael Innes
The New Sonia Wayward by Michael Innes
The Village by Marghanita Laski
The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories by Daphne du Maurier
I was especially chuffed to find the du Maurier book in a shop which is part bookshop and part antiques shop. I would have bought it anyway but it’s particularly nice that it’s a signed copy, as you can see. It was very reasonably priced too.
I always get my best book finds when I least expect to. I could have bought quite a few more books but I exercised restraint and of course I now wish I hadn’t. Luckily, Edinburgh isn’t very far away!
Wow! a signed copy of a Daphne Du Maurier book! Lucky you! I’ll be going to Scotland in September and will definitely check out the used book stores.
Carol,
I hope you have a great time when you get to Scotland. Get in touch with me if you need bookshops details, they can be quite difficult to find.
Wow! Great finds, Katrina! I think you hit the jackpot.
Anbolyn,
That was definitely a successful day out and it was practically on my doorstep, no need to travel to Wales!
Lovely books! I’ve read The Village and The Rebecca Notebook, both excellent (so good to get a signed copy) and have recently ‘found’ Michael Innes, so expect those to be good too. I think I know the bookshops – we passed a few on our way to the Western General when I was having radiotherapy. We just never has the time to stop and explore!
Margaret,
I hope you manage to get to those shops sometime, we walked from there into the centre of Edinburgh, not far at all. I’m really looking forward to reading those books now, I think we have similar taste!
I LOVED The Village, one of my favorite Persephones so far. And what a great find with the signed du Maurier! Score!
Karen,
I knew that I had read a good review of it, it must have been you!
A nice little haul.
And how so lucky with the Rebecca book, signed as well! Be intriguing to find out how she come to sign it and how much it is worth.
Look forward to hearing about the book.
Jo,
She must have been fairly old when this book came out so as the signature is actually on a bookshop bookplate I think they must have sent her a bundle to sign, obviously easier than sending a load of books to sign, but maybe she was there in person. The book cost me £6 which is just about what I would expect to pay for a second-hand hardback, but I had a look on the internet and there is one with exactly the same bookplate and signature priced at £133, a bit much I think!