The MAGIC of BOOKS

Nicky Adams explores the winding streets of Maldon and discovers a collection of independent shops that would give even Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley a run for its golden galleon

- Nicky Adams

Maldon can’t claim to have a pub called the Leaky Cauldron that opens into a hidden high street for wizard types to stock up on wands, broomsticks and ingredients for potions, but it would be very easy to imagine it leaping from the pages of a popular Harry Potter novel in the town’s newest bookshop.

‘When I saw an early 19th-century building with bay windows looking out onto the historic All Saints Church, I thought it would be absolutely perfect for the bookshop I have always dreamed of,’ says Olivia Rosenthall, proprietor of Maldon Books, which opened in December last year.

Olivia’s new premises on the High Street have been run as a shop for more than 200 years, during which time it has been a jeweller, greengrocer, florist and travel agent.

‘Maldon has always buzzed with independent businesses and the local people are just as eager to support them now as they have been in the past,’ says Olivia. ‘The response to the bookshop has been phenomenal.’

Given its location, it’s no surprise that Maldon Books has a hefty selection of history books in its non-fiction section, which share the shelves with titles on favourite topics including cookery, nature and travel (although none on spells), as well as biographies, a huge choice of novels and a wide range of children’s books. All have been flying off the shelves as news of the bookshop’s opening has reached the ears of local readers.