Sleeping in the library

‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,’ wrote Jorge Luis Borges. Me, too. When I used to work in Cambridge University Library I used to have a fantasy about hiding until everyone had gone home and the library was closed and spending the night there. It seemed to me that all the place lacked was a bed. If I’d only had that, I could have stayed there for weeks, never needing to leave. So when I was researching an article about independent libraries and came across Gladstone’s Library (formerly St. Deinol’s) and discovered that you could actually stay there, I decided I had to visit. It has taken me a while, and I’ve only been for lunch, but yesterday I finally made it.

I drove over to leave some Crime Writers’ Association papers for our archive, which is being housed and catalogued by the library, and to have a very enjoyable lunch with the Director of Collections, Louisa Yates, and Martin Edwards, the CWA’s archivist. The library didn’t disappoint: it is a wonderful Victorian Gothic extravaganza. The collection is mainly related to Theology and Victorian Studies but anyone can go and stay. It makes a great writers’ retreat and it has a very active programme of events, including a book festival, Gladfest, in September. There’s a lovely garden and the bedrooms look great. Now that I’ve managed to get there, I am sure I’ll go again – and next time I’ll take my toothbrush.

Find out more here: https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/