CHARLES UNWIN
Written by James Ward
Either late last year, or early this year (I can’t remember which, I know it was cold), I wasn’t feeling well. I left work early, but couldn’t quite face getting the tube, so wandered around in a bit of a daze (thinking about it now, it must have been early this year; if it had been late last year, there would have been Christmas decorations everywhere).
I found myself in the newly opened Book Exchange on Berwick Street. Being newly opened, they hadn’t finished putting all the stock out, and the shop was half empty (ever restless, as soon as the shop was fully stocked, they moved everything downstairs. They sell clothes upstairs now).
I bought this book for 50p:
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Inside the book, someone (I assume Charles Unwin) has written this:
I’m not sure what the “902” refers to. The “40p Wk1” is in reference to the price which someone, probably the person who owned the book immediately before me, paid for it in an Imperial Cancer Research shop. I know it had previously been sold in an Imperial Cancer Research shop because I found this receipt in the book:
15-10-01. Good lord. Whoever had bought it previously had done so more than seven years earlier. Who was that person? Charles Unwin? I doubt it. The book must have passed through several hands since this edition was originally published in 1978.
The habit of writing your name and address in the inside cover of a book is one which has apparently died out (I base this on nothing more than anecdotal evidence; when I’ve noticed these inscriptions in other books, they always seem to be a bit older. Newer books remain anonymous). My guess is that Charles Unwin must have been the original owner of the book (would someone buy a cheap secondhand book and mark it in that way?). He probably bought it in 1978 or maybe 1979. I hope he liked the book. But who was he? Googling the phrase “Charles Unwin” (in quotes) brings up 15,000 results. Which one is he?
There’s an actor called Charles Unwin, but he was only born in 1973. It can’t be him. Could he be the Charles Unwin who the Queen was so graciously pleased to appoint as an Officer of Her Diplomatic Service on the 6th Febrary 1979? Is he the Charles Unwin who would later go on to write this? Maybe he is the Charles Unwin who is friends with a man who calls himself Papalaz. A “very clever guy and a great reader“, maybe Handke’s odd little book would have appealed to him. I suppose I’ll never know.
I wonder what 9a Regent’s Park Terrace is like. This is where it is:
It’s an architectural practice now. This is their website.
This is what 9a Regent’s Park Terrace looks like on Google Streetview. In this picture, it’s obstructed by a tree:
This is what 9a Regent’s Park Terrace looks like if you stand outside and take a photo:
I’m not entirely sure why I went there. I suspect it’s actually a slightly creepy thing to do. But once I had the idea of going, I knew I had no choice. I don’t know what I expected to find, and the whole thing was a bit of an anti-climax. It was cold and windy. I didn’t stay there very long. I felt awkward and went and had an overpriced pint of Red Stripe in the Spread Eagle around the corner.
Maybe part of the reason for my decision to make this pilgrimage was that, actually, it didn’t involve much effort on my part. I only had to get the tube to Camden. I didn’t have to fly anywhere. This was also inside the book:
This Wikipedia page suggests this card is also from 2001; the interim period during Greece’s move to “a closed ten-digit numbering scheme”. I’m a bit surprised that a company like Siroco’s (a holiday apartment complex) didn’t have a website even as recently as 2001. They have one now though. Parikia looks a lot nicer than Camden. Maybe I made the wrong choice.
Papalaz moved from London to Crete at some stage. Maybe I could take a tour of the Greek Islands and pop in to see him. He runs a farm. Maybe that’s what Charles Unwin did. Maybe he met up with his friend in the Greek islands. Maybe Papalaz realised he still had that book he’d borrowed from Charles a few years ago, and gave it back. But, then what? Reunited with the book, Unwin stayed a few nights at Siroco’s, read it one last time, and then donated it to his local charity shop? That doesn’t make sense. Of course it doesn’t make sense. I’m trying to squeeze the biographical details of two different Charles Unwins together for no real reason.
What happened to the book between the time Charles Unwin wrote his name in pencil inside the front cover in the late seventies and the time it was sold in an Imperial Cancer Research shop in 2001 remains a mystery. At some point around then, it might have made a trip to a Greek island, it might not have. Either way, a few years later, it was sold in the Book Exchange on Berwick Street for 50p to a man who was feeling unwell.
UPDATE: After writing this blog post, I received an email – see Part Two for more…
This is what 9a Regent’s Park Terrace looks like if you stand outside it and take a photo: Wine came out of my nose when I read this.
That is an amazing skill, leaking wine as you do. Someone near or dear to you, such as a loved-one, should collect and bottle it to be sold in Waitrose or M&S.
Lovely little whimsical thought made flesh. I can feel the presence of Danny Wallace behind twitching net curtain taking notes.
I loved this post.
This summer I bought a second-hand book, ‘Adventures In The Skin Trade’ by Dylan Thomas in Primrose Hill Books. After reading it, I noticed the inscription on the fly leaf, Alan Coren, Wadham, 1958.
A quick Google, and I learnt that Alan Coren had indeed been at Wadham in the late 1950s, so I now possessed a book that had previously belonged to one of my favourite writers.
Coincidentally, I was in email conversation with Victoria Coren at this time and emailed her my exciting news.
She never replied.
I can’t believe she never replied, although maybe thinking of her father as a young man was a bit upsetting. It’s a great story though.
What a nice story and an interesting thing to do for a book lover who has just thoroughly enjoyed a “good read”. The unknown result of the search is so intriguing if you’re ready for a possible disappointing result too.
I once bought a book of Boris Johnson’s columns from a secondhand book shop on Charing Cross Road, got home, and opened it to find a message from the shopkeeper on the inside cover berating me for buying a book by such an awful man.
I know exactly who this person is. I don’t think I should write anymore for now, save to say he is a great reader and buyer of second hand books. I have been dragged into several antiquarian booksellers’ over the years, and been the grateful recipient of many an intriguing, if tatty, volume.
Oh my. Are you serious? That would be incredible if you really did know the Charles Unwin in question. If he wants to be reunited with his copy of Short Letter, Long Farewell just tell him to drop me a line.
it might have been in the possession of the publisher unwin whose first name i think was charles, will have to check out his dates on wikipedia. never met him or had dealings with him when i was a publisher, i don’t think, although i got to know quite a few folks in british publishing..MICHAEL ROLOFF
yup, allen + unwin still exists as an independent publisher. i would post the link but this blog appears adverse to them. m.r.
I actually managed to track down Charles Unwin (or rather a friend of his tracked me down):
https://iamjamesward.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/charles-unwin-part-two-contact/
I was a friend of a Charles Unwin during our first and second years at the University of Bristol, 1974 to 1976. I have been trying to find a contact point for him during this past week. He was a History undergraduate, with family in Newton Abbot, Devon. I would very much like to meet up with him again. I now live, with my family, once again in Bristol. I can be contacted on 01179 68 1221.
Oddly, perhaps, the Regent’s Park Terrace address is very familiar to me, but no 5, not no. 9A.
I can’t recall Charles’ handwriting, but he was certainly the sort of person to frequent booksellers.
Rosalind Oliver.
Sorry to be the bringer of potentially disappointing news, but this is a different Charles Unwin.
Ah. Thanks. Well, it was worth a try. Thanks again.
Top notch literary detection, thanks for sharing this
i see malte herwig too has found this site! and this post. odd to see it light up again after all these months!
http://www.facebook.com/mike.roloff1?ref=name
I. Long to know if there is a follow-up to Charles Unwin,s book. Part 2 was empty.
Apologies, the link was wrong! Here you are:
http://iamjamesward.com/2010/01/25/charles-unwin-part-two-contact/
I know exactly who the CU + Papalaz are, having lived at 10 RPT & visited the place in Crete.