Sign inSign up
Basket
Full catalogue / The Book Hunter
The Book Hunter

John Hill Burton

The Book Hunter

Paper book: €54.99

Digital: €17.99

Original publication
1862
Bilingual edition
June 12, 2026
Pages
979
Difficulty
Easy
Genres
Travel Writing, History
Moods
Escape it all, Travel back in time
Translated from
English

Book summary

With humour, the Scottish historian John Hill Burton paints a portrait of book hunters: the collector who ends up buying a second copy of a book he already owns, the browser who rummages through second-hand bookshops, the regular at auctions, the reader who reads a bit of everything. He also tells of the birth of the great libraries and of book collectors' clubs, such as the Roxburghe Club.

A learned and good-humoured book for everyone who loves books and old editions. This edition opens with the author's biography, written by his widow.

Its chapters can be read one by one, at your own pace, in the language you are learning.

The plot

A collector secretly buys back his own books. Archdeacon Meadow, a senior clergyman, loves old books. Yet one day he puts a large part of his collection up for auction. During the sale, he walks into the room like a…

The world of the book

In London, an old book sells for a record price. In the 19th century, lovers of old books meet at auctions. In 1812, in London, the library of the Duke of Roxburghe, a great Scottish collector, is sold. The sale lasts…

Read an excerpt

Display mode

Preview:

Similar books

Explore the site

Other languages you can learn

See the whole catalogue

Your privacy preferences

We use cookies to measure our audience and for advertising. The site works just as well if you decline. Customise Privacy