Come book shopping with me at London's oldest bookshop! Spring book haul & April TBR 📚🌸

Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the books herself... 📚 Book shopping vlog, Spring book haul and recent reads! A beautiful day in London visiting Hatchards in Piccadilly (London's oldest bookshop), Fortnum & Mason for a spot of tea and walking around the beautiful Royal parks in bloom 🌼
✅ Subscribe: bit.ly/ClaireFenbyBooktube
📸 Follow me on Instagram: bit.ly/CFenbyInstagram
✨ Tip me on on Ko-Fi: bit.ly/ClaireFenbyTipJar
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:41 Mrs Dalloway's walk & map
1:56 Spring & book shopping
8:13 Tea time
12:04 Book haul
17:51 Fortnum & Mason haul
19:31 Book mail!
22:08 Currently reading
23:58 Spring/April TBR
25:48 Thank you 🌸
Mrs Dalloway map by Literary Maps: literarymaps.com/products/mrs...
My video of Mrs Dalloway's walk: • Mrs Dalloway's walk | ...
Books mentioned 📖 Very much inspired by Miranda Mills ‪@MirandaMills‬ 💓
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield (Persephone Books)
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (Vintage Classics - Heroine series)
Great and Horrible News: Murder and Mayhem in Early Modern Britain (HarperCollins)
Emma by Jane Austen (Norton Critical Edition)
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (Penguin Modern Classics)
Rural Hours by Harriet Baker (Allen Lane)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Cranford Collection)
Places visited 🗺️ 📍 Westminster, London
Parliament Square (👋 Big Ben)
St James's Park
Green Park
Hatchards
Fortnum & Mason
Royal Academy of Art
Tea mentioned 🫖
Queen Anne by ‪@Fortnums‬
🎵 I've created a playlist of all the music I use in my KZbin videos:
share.epidemicsound.com/48abk...
And, if you sign up to Epidemic Sound through the playlist link, you'll get 7 days for free!
🎶 General Epidemic Sound affiliate link: share.epidemicsound.com/48abk...
❓ FAQ:
Where do you live? I live in London with my husband and two cats
What do you do for work? I work in the book publishing industry as a Head of Marketing
What did you study? I studied English Literature at York St. John University (BA) and University of York (MA)
Who are your favourite authors? I love Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf and Agatha Christie to name a few!
Favourite eras of history? I'm obsessed with the Tudors, Georgians and many more!

[@bfranklin1052]

I loved this walk around London. Spring is my least favorite time of year; always promising a warm day and then turning rainy and cold. Trickster! I related so much to what you said about reading Virginia Woolf and how you became acquainted with her in your early college years. That's when I did as well. I am now far, far older and you have spiked my interest to go back and reread her again. Then I look forward to taking your Mrs Dalloway walk right along with you. So nice getting acquainted with you, Claire. Best to you and Ben in your new home!

[@monica_has116lentilsand2cats]

As always, such a charming video! I agree, London in the spring is hard to beat. A book, a snack, a blanket on the grass - bliss! 📚☀️ Good luck with your move! Can‘t wait for all the York videos that are hopefully coming once you‘re settled. Questions: What did you do your thesis on? Have you (and Ben, of course!) ever considered living abroad? If so, where and why? Do you have a system to catalogue your books? Or do you remember all the books you own? How many do you own? How are your cats doing? Will you board them with family while you pack and relocate or take them with you straight away? 👉🏻If the latter, may I recommend putting up Feliway diffusers in your old and - very important - new home? We‘ve moved several times with our cats (even abroad, long long journeys in the car) and found it really helped them. That, and a fresh litterbox + their favorite treats. 😉 Best of luck for your move! 🌷🌸🌷 Monica, from tiny-town Austria 📚🐾🐾

[@user-qj4dx4fc3n]

Does F&M still have their fabulous restaurant/tearoom? I went there with my mother on my first trip to London--decades ago. I'd never seen a store like it--nor have I since. Also, we went to Hatchard's, where I, a bookish teenager, bought an Oxford Shakespeare in leather and slipcase, and The Complete Poems and Plays of T.S. Eliot, a Faber & Faber hardback. Beautiful memories. Such seriousness and decorum at that bookshop, and at F&M as well, not something that we Americans are used to.

[@agnespm4181]

Thank you Claire. Best wishes for your move to York. I visited there 2 weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I travelled over from Ireland for my daughter's graduation ceremony at Chester Cathedral. I'm currently reading Jane Brown's Spirits of Place. Loving the chapters on Virginia Woolf. Good luck and I am glad you are cherishing your time spent in London.💗

[@ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

I lived in London in the late 90s / early 2000s and I miss it terribly. I tell myself that if I ever come into some money, I’ll move back and never leave.

[@ericchristen2623]

Me too

[@Claire_Fenby]

If I ever win the lottery, I'll buy myself a little flat in Hampstead!

[@LeonelaEsteve]

Such a beautiful video ❤ And that map certainly deserves to be framed! 🌸

[@kategoman2969]

Hi Claire, as a big fan of Virginia Woof, have you seen a three part series called Life in Squares? It's about the Bloomsbury Group and the relationship between Virginia and Vanessa. I think you'll like it. There's also a rose called Vanessa Bell. 😊

[@Claire_Fenby]

I have! I really enjoyed watching it when it was on TV but I must re-watch it

[@caitlancole9136]

Beautiful video! I just finished The Enchanted April (also on Miranda Mills’s recommendation!) and loved it! 💐💐💐💐

[@chantelm2818]

Such a lovely video with great book recommendations. Your blouse (or dress) is so pretty and fitting for the Spring too!🌸

[@textilaerika]

🌸

[@Teacup29]

Good Luck with the move Claire. I am a big fan of Dorothy Whipple loved all her books.🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[@barbaramccoy3592]

🌹🌷🌸What a lovely video. Thank you for sharing this fantastic day - and , oh my, I drooled over the stunning “frilly” tea sets at 4:00 or so. (I have arose that is about to burst into bloom so I had to post a rosebud emoji). I also checked out the electronic version of the murder and mayhem book😊

[@badfaith4u]

Spring in London looks beautiful. 🌸🌷🌺🪷 Good luck with the move to York.

[@MichelePJ]

Beautiful video, thank you for taking us along. 🌸📚❤

[@forgetmenot783]

Oh my goodness that edition of I capture the castle!! I need it! 🌸

[@BookishTexan]

Love that map! What a great way to spend time in London before you move.

[@Claire_Fenby]

The perfect London day for me!

[@aliyahbegum321]

This is such a lovely video! Really enjoyed it

[@circleofleaves2676]

I've only read two of George Eliot's books - Middlemarch, and The Mill on the Floss. My favourite of the two is definitely Middlemarch by a long shot. I adore the last paragraph, and to this day I will read things or hear things that make me think of that paragraph. If you know, you know.

[@littlezine8322]

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is a fav of mine, highly recommend for a light hearted funny read 🌸🌸🌸

[@Claire_Fenby]

Thank you for the recommendation! I've heard so many good things about Cold Comfort Farm 📚

[@katepoche4603]

Such fun! I'll miss your little (or big) London hauls.

[@Claire_Fenby]

I'm back every month for work so keep an eye out for more London hauls!

[@areadersalmanacwithceleste1366]

Claire, thanks for this wonderful Come Along With Me vlog! I so enjoyed seeing Hatchard's! Question: For a BookTuber and bibliophile who wants to plan a vacation in London, would you recommend this area for a hotel? What neighborhood would you recommend booking in if a person wants to visit bookstores, museums and parks? Thanks so much!

[@Claire_Fenby]

Anywhere central would be a great to be honest! London is very walkable and the transport is so good you’ll be able to get from one side of the city to the other in no time. Have a lovely trip!

[@manuelespinosa724]

A real pleasure...very informative...I am taking up your suggestions. Looking forward to the next video!

[@gracetaylor7351]

🌸🌺🌹🌼thank you Claire I enjoy this !! ❤

[@ljb3135]

🌸🌸🌸

[@michellerudhall2831]

🌸Wishing you both all the very best for your move to York😻📖

[@gillwoolley6515]

I am a bit of a seasonal reader, and I would read Jane Eyre in the Autumn. All the best with your move.🌸🌸🌸

[@jessicanw]

Although I've really enjoyed your London vlogs and I totally understand why you are feeling sad about moving, I hope you will continue to share the scenery and interesting locations after your move -- I'm interested in all of it! My question for you is about maps. I love them and have quite a few, but I never know what to do with them, so they live quietly out of sight in boxes. I don't have the space to display them all. I was thinking that instead of full-on frames, maybe I could put them on foam board (or something like that) with a simple string hanger, so I can store them more easily than if they were in glass or bulky plastic frames, and then I can rotate them out so they each get some time on the wall. What do you do with yours?

[@junpi8562]

And I just bought two maps from Blackwells haha, thank you!

[@ealo4673]

Beautiful walk, books and video.

[@violetbell6550]

🌸🌸💕 lovely video as always, thank you for sharing beautiful London with us. I now must have one of those maps. 😍😍🌸

[@Claire_Fenby]

Thank you for watching 💓

[@davidmccalip5759]

Hello Claire! I hope all is well with you. I wish you good luck and as low stress a move to your new place as possible. 🌸🌼

[@Claire_Fenby]

Thank you David! It's been quite the journey but we're starting to settle in now 🏡

[@Sherlika_Gregori]

What a lovely video. Thank you.

[@user-dt9qf8ux8b]

You might enjoy "My Life in Middlemarch" by Rebecca Mead. Daniel Deronda is "tied" with Middlemarch as my favorite Eliot.

[@madii7]

I second the Daniel Deronda recommendation! x

[@Sherlika_Gregori]

My favourite F&M tea are Victoria Grey and Countess Grey.

[@Claire_Fenby]

I haven’t learned to like Earl Grey yet! Ben loves their Smokey Earl Grey ☕️

[@dailycarolina.]

By George Elliot, I've only read _Silas Marner_ and it was really good, a bit sad though. This novel is a hidden gem !!

[@sandrahinton6220]

Really enjoy your video .ike your personality and enthusiasm about books found it interesting

[@Claire_Fenby]

Thank you for watching! More videos coming soon ✨

[@janfreegard188]

I would love to see you repair your childhood dolls house 🏠 that would be a lovely video ❤

[@Claire_Fenby]

Looking forward to being able to decorate it! We’ll definitely make videos on it when we do

[@luke28]

Wonderful video! I have gathered lots of tips and loved watching the beginning of spring in London. So exited about seeing your new adventuress in York though, it seems so beautiful there! And you'll probably live quite close to Miranda Mills; perhaps you could meet up ;) haha, ignore my potentially annoying suggestion. Good luck with the moving and the changes, you can do it

[@Claire_Fenby]

Thank you! Spring is London is so beautiful 🌸 Yorkshire is the biggest county in the UK so I'm not too sure about that one 🤣

[@gogo_lopez]

Oh having bean on toast was the wrong choice for the video because now I'm SO NOSTALGIC for England! Also I was strongly reassured that I am in the right channel when I got excited for the tea strainer unboxing haha Beautiful video as always, Claire! Can't wait for your future adventures. Also, another Q if you don't mind! What author (alive or deceased) would you like to sit down for tea and have a long chat?

[@Claire_Fenby]

Ahaha I love this comment 🍞 I think I'd like to sit down with Hilary Mantel and discuss all things Thomas Cromwell ✨

[@mariat.3961]

🌸 I’m currently enjoying my first Barbara Pym novel, Excellent Women. It’s a lovely quiet story

[@Claire_Fenby]

Another one to add to my tbr pile!

[@ladyfox6705]

A lovely video, thank you Claire 🙂 I also have I Capture The Castle on my bookshelf, yet unread as well, and I must get to it! I do very much like that cover you have, nicer than mine. I must have the alternative Vintage edition. Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books, and have read it several times and it never falters! Miranda Mills has a lovely channel doesn't she? 🙂🥀💮🌻

[@Claire_Fenby]

I wholeheartedly recommend I Capture the Castle! It's definitely one of my favourite books now 📚

[@marywong9976]

Oohh not sure if the biography you mentioned is A Marriage Life by Clare Carlisle! It was a five star for me! Carlisle writes beautifully and draws wonderful connections between Eliot's novels and her own thoughts about philosophy and intellect.

[@Claire_Fenby]

It is! I will definitely pick it up to read in May 📚

[@rowenaroberta5244]

🌸🌸

[@christineansorge5519]

🎍This is helping me get to know my emojis.

[@MJ-in-Canada]

Someone should create a “Claire’s Map of London.”🌸

[@Claire_Fenby]

I should commission one! 🤣

[@DianeC1975]

💐📚❤️

[@duncanleith9172]

Charming video, but tinged with sadness. Hatchards was a quirky, magical shop; in places abolutely bonkers and probably contravening every Health & Safety regulation known. But this was decades ago and when I last visited there. To see it now in this video, fitted-out in the corporate Waterstones style and devoid of all its old individuality is so disappointing.

[@Claire_Fenby]

It's sad but I'd rather have a Waterstones style Hatchards rather than no Hatchards... The booksellers really make the shop imo 📚

[@duncanleith9172]

Indeed they do, and Waterstones staff have always been full of enthusiasm whatever the branch. Piccadilly was my favourite part of London, but even Sotherans (incidentally older than Hatchards, but starting out in York before the move south) is abandoning it for Marble Arch.

[@Claire_Fenby]

@duncanleith9172 As an ex Waterstones bookseller I have to agree 🤣

[@evonha]

Claire, Do you read P.G. Wodehouse?

[@Claire_Fenby]

I haven't yet!

[@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD]

🌸🌸🌸

[@katiejlumsden]

🌸

[@jackieives4535]

🌸

[@Larissa_KD]

🌸🌸🌸