Platanus Occidentalis

by | Mar 16, 2018 | Platanus Occidentalis

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Munro's Books is a large independent bookstore in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, located in a landmark heritage building on Government Street. Founded in 1963 by Jim Munro and his then wife Alice, since 1984 on Jim's retirement, the store retains the name but no connection to the Munro family. The store celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2013.[1]

Since 1984, the store has been located in downtown Victoria in the neo-classical building Royal Bank Building with a 7.3-metre (24 ft) coffered ceiling, designed in 1909 for the Royal Bank of Canada by architect Thomas Hooper.[2] Munro's Books has been described by journalist Allan Fotheringham as "the most magnificent bookstore in Canada, possibly in North America."[3]

The store was founded in 1963 by Jim Munro and his first wife Alice Munro, the 2013 Nobel Prize-winning short-story writer. At the start, its stock was mostly paperbacks.[2] According to Jim Munro, Alice Munro began to write after reading some of the bookstore's stock and deciding angrily that "I can write better books than this,"[1] however Alice had her first story published 13 years before the bookstore opened, in 1950.[4] Although Alice Munro did not have any relation to the bookstore for decades, the store still received fan and press calls asking for her.[5]

Textile artist Carole Sabiston, Jim Munro's second wife, created the tapestries that decorate the bookstore.[1]

The store management issued a statement in support of Alice and Jim Munro's daughter Andrea Skinner shortly after the publication of the story in major North American newspapers that Alice Munro's second husband had abused Munro's daughter.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Lederman, Marsha (August 30, 2013). "Munro's Books boasts a shelf life of 50 years – and counting". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "About Munro's". Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  3. ^ "Canadian Author Alice Munro Wins Nobel Prize In Literature". Agence France-Presse. October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  4. ^ Jason Winders (10 October 2013). "Alice Munro, LLD'76, wins 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature". Western News. The University of Western Ontario. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  5. ^ Campbell, Al; Huang, Xiaonan; Xiaocheng, Ma (October 12, 2013). "Interview: Munro Nobel Prize win boosts Canadian bookstore". Sina English. Xinhua English. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  6. ^ / Statement by Munro's books re Andrea Skinner accessed 8 July 2024

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