Welcome to Primrose Hill Books

The bookshop is situated in a Victorian terrace two minutes walk from Primrose Hill – the best natural vantage point in London for a spectacular view of the whole city – and just to the north of Regent's Park and London Zoo.  It is five minutes walk from the nearest Underground station, which is Chalk Farm on the Northern line, and 10 - 15 minutes walk from bustling Camden Town, the Regent's Canal and Camden Market.  You will find Regent's Park Road a lively shopping street with a diverse range of specialist shops and amply provided with cafés and restaurants. A patisserie and coffee shop is conveniently next door!

What they say about us

Retail Week described us as having 'what a good bookshop should offer – intelligent service in a friendly straightforward environment . . . skilful advice for anyone from recalcitrant teenagers to great aunts.'  And Book Lover's London says we are 'An excellent little gem in a quiet and very smart local shopping street. . . . A wonderful little bookshop.'

New Books

Inside the shop – on the ground floor – you will find a well chosen selection of titles in both hardback and paperback.  We have bestsellers and reference books, travel guides and a good mystery section.  We also have a fine collection of children's books, including all the favourites plus a selection of excellent titles we've discovered over the years.  Our shop enjoys one valuable distinction:  Primrose Hill is an area where many writers, artists and media-folk live.  So don't be surprised to see local authors' works displayed in the window.  These writers are our friends, and through their pages, your friends, too.  We also sell audiobooks, book tokens and greeting cards.  Plus, we have our own series of postcards reproduced from the 18th and 19th century prints of local scenes.

Old Books

The basement, which once housed the kitchen and coal storage for the entire five storey building, was formerly filled with secondhand books, spilling onto the floor and every available space.  After the birth of our son, Tom, just after Christmas 2000, we found that we had insufficient resources to keep the basement open for customers and have now turned it into a combination of store, office and play area.  So we've moved many of our used books to a storage facility.  They are out of sight, but not out of mind, thanks to our computer system.  We catalogue our more unusual and out of print secondhand books to make them available on the Internet.  We also have our own list of used books and relationships with many other used book dealers.  While we no longer have all the browsing space we once had, we have better access to used books than ever.  Just come in and ask.

Events

We offer book signings, talks by authors, and other functions for book lovers.  We post news of these events (and on special items we have in stock) on the signboard in front of our shop.  We are also happy to keep you current on our activities.  To better stay in touch, just ask us to add you to our mailing list or to our email list.  You'll find out about our seasonal selections, about books for holiday gifts, and about special events we sponsor for visitors to our shop and all our friends and neighbours in Primrose Hill.

Special Orders

You'll find an impressive selection of books in our shop, but our clients have an astonishing diversity of interests, and no shop, however large, could hold all the books they ask for.  Nevertheless, we can provide whatever books you want, new or used, and do so very quickly.  We have excellent resources for locating books, good relations with publishers and distributors, and we understand that when you want a book, you want it quickly.  You can come into the shop and talk with us as we search for what you want.  Or, if you know what you're after, you can contact us by email or through the form on our Special Orders page.  If you get in touch electronically and we have any questions, we'll get right back to you so you won't lose precious time as we search for the books you want.