{"title":"Oliver Darkshire","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the whimsical and darkly humorous world of Oliver Darkshire. Perfect for fans of quirky memoirs and bookselling tales, discover the charm and wit within his bibliophilic adventures.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"once-upon-a-tome-book-oliver-darkshire-9781787636040","title":"Once Upon a Tome","description":"'Peculiarly hilarious!' - William Gibson 'Every page is a pleasure' - Lindsey FItzharris 'Utterly charming' - Tom Holland 'Laugh-out-loud' - Garth Nix 'A must read' - Fergus Butler-Gallie 'Brims with self-effacing charm' - Caitlin Doughty 'Unfortunately I have mislaid the book in question' - Neil Gaiman  Welcome to Sotheran's, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and wonderful clientele, suspicious cupboards, unlabelled keys, poisoned books and some things that aren't even books, presided over by one deeply eccentric apprentice.  Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd on Sackville Street (est. 1761) to interview for their bookselling apprenticeship, a decision which has bedevilled him ever since.  He'd intended to stay for a year before launching into some less dusty, better remunerated career. Unfortunately for him, the alluring smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap proved irresistible. Soon he was balancing teetering stacks of first editions, fending off nonagenarian widows with a ten-foot pole and trying not to upset the store's resident ghost (the late Mr Sotheran had unfinished business when he was hit by that tram).  For while Sotheran's might be a treasure trove of literary delights, it sings a siren song to eccentrics. 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