Norwich, England — a Getaway for Book Lovers
On a soggy September evening, every shopfront in Norwich, England’s downtown was closed and dark, with the exception of one. The
Book Hive was an independent bookshop that opened in October 2009, and with every swing of the door, there was an expectant hum
as customers waited impatiently for Australian author Alex Miller, who was born in Britain.
After entering, Mr. Miller walked to his seat and started thinking back on his time spent in Paris in the 1970s, which served as
inspiration for his most recent book, “Lovesong,” which was nominated for Australia’s Miles Franklin Award, a prestigious literary
honour, for the sixth time. Stacks of translations of poetry supported cups of red wine as earnest students and middle-aged writers sat
on the floor in front of him like schoolchildren at story time.
Enquiries from the audience, influenced by Irish, Scottish, and English accents, all marvelled at the same thing: that Mr. Miller, a
celebrated but barely well-known figure, was not more well-known in Britain. However, in this 137,000-person eastern English city, he
was undoubtedly a draw, filling the store until long after the reading ended. Later, discussions continued, the kind of drunken, bookish
arguments more frequently found in Bloomsbury than in this largely rural county.
Norwich, a two-hour train ride northeast from London, has increasingly become a refuge for writers fleeing the hectic pace of the
capital’s publishing scene. At first glance it appears to be just another charming medieval town, with a fantastically preserved castle
and a 900-year-old cathedral. But look a little deeper and you’ll notice the wellspring of author readings and literary festivals,
featuring recent talks by Booker Prize winners like John Banville and Penelope Lively.
The comfy cafes within the town’s narrow old lanes are full of aspiring writers pecking away at laptops, dreaming of becoming the next
Ian McEwan or Kazuo Ishiguro, both of whom got their start here at the University of East Anglia’s esteemed creative writing master’s
program.
Mr. Ishiguro was so struck by Norwich and its surrounding county that he used it as inspiration for his 2005 novel “Never Let Me Go”
(though the book was actually set in East Sussex, the 2010 movie adaptation was largely filmed in Norfolk County, home to Norwich).
“I love the emptiness and the atmosphere,” he said. “The scenery is quite unique. There is that feeling of being in a lost corner.”
He also admires its passionate and well-read population. “It’s always just going to be a literary scene in the best sense of the word,” he
added, “where people get together and talk about writing.”
After London, Norwich was England’s most important city in the Middle Ages. A remarkable 31 medieval churches have survived. As
the number of devout believers has dwindled, many of those imposing but well-preserved churches have helped nurture a literary
tradition by hosting readings, salons, writing classes and theatrical productions.
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