We hope that you enjoy visiting Foyles' online bookshop and that we may look forward to welcoming you as a new customer.
Our Heritage
Foyles was founded in 1903 by two brothers: when William and Gilbert Foyle failed their Civil Service examinations, they decided to sell their textbooks. Such was the response to their advert that they could have sold them many times over, so they determined to start a bookshop. The unwanted textbooks became the modest foundation stone of what was to become the world’s greatest bookshop. The business has been on Charing Cross Road since 1906 and is still privately owned.
In the last few years, Foyles has undergone a top-to-toe transformation: the entire shop has been refitted and, while our unparalleled range of books will always remain at the heart of Foyles, we’ve introduced some extra elements to make your visit even more enjoyable. Now, not only are there five floors of books with fifty-six specialist subjects, but we’ve installed new lifts and air conditioning, and there’s also an art gallery, a café, Ray’s Jazz shop and, in the children’s department, a piranha tank. We also continue to have a flourishing programme of events, and are proud to welcome an eclectic range of writers and to be the only port of call for many authors visiting from abroad.
We’ve expanded our range, too, and now offer a wide choice of magazines, first class gifts and stationery items, and in response to customer demand, are introducing a selection of second-hand books to complement our new book range. And because we’re proud of our heritage, we’ve even producing some unique Foyles-branded memorabilia. Some of these items are available here on the site, but do come into the shop to see the full range. When you visit, look out for the many photographs dotted about the shop showing some of the great moments and illustrious visitors from our history.
And now even bigger developments are taking place at Foyles. In June 2005, for the first time since our very early days, we opened another branch. Situated on the Riverside level at London's Southbank Centre, the shop stocks around 30,000 books across a broad range of categories.
Then, in April 2006, we entered a partnership with Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace, to supply books and book-related accessories to the palaces. Our mission is to excite and engage adults and children alike with Britain's past. The title range includes British art, architecture and culture, military history, historical fiction, London interest titles, travel guides and children's books plus a selection of Foyles memorabilia and accessories.
And in October we opened two bookshops within Selfridges in London's Oxford Street and Manchester Trafford, which run author and celebrity events as well as offering a wide range of titles.
You can read more about Foyles’ history in "Foyles: a celebration" by Penny Mountain with Christopher Foyle. This is an affectionate, anecdotal, sometimes candid celebration of the first 100 years of a bookselling institution.
