Worked at · 2001
Shakespeare and Company (Rue de la Bûcherie)
George's daughter — named for Sylvia Beach — joined the shop in the early 2000s and runs it today, adding the literary festival, the Paris Literary Prize, and the café beside the shop.
- Bookseller
Sylvia Whitman
George Whitman's daughter, named for Sylvia Beach — owner of Shakespeare and Company since 2011.
In images
Details
- Anglo-French
- Bookseller
About Sylvia Whitman
Sylvia Whitman grew up inside Shakespeare and Company, the English-language bookshop her father George Whitman had opened beside Notre-Dame. Named for Sylvia Beach, she spent her early childhood in the building before moving to Britain with her mother.
She returned to Paris in the early 2000s and began working with her father, gradually taking responsibility for the shop. Whitman modernized the business without abandoning its defining practices: public readings, beds among the shelves for visiting writers and readers, and the Tumbleweed archive of short autobiographies left by those guests.
Under her direction the shop expanded its literary events, created an international festival, opened a neighboring café, and developed new publishing and interview projects. She has owned the business since George Whitman's death in 2011, carrying an independently founded postwar shop into its second family generation.
Life events
Born to George Whitman and raised during her early childhood in the bookshop.
Returns to Paris and begins working with her father at Shakespeare and Company.
Helps establish the FestivalandCo literary festival.
Becomes the shop's owner after George Whitman's death.
The Shakespeare and Company Café opens beside the bookshop.
Runs the bookshop, its events program, lodging tradition, and publishing projects.
Questions about Sylvia Whitman
Who owns Shakespeare and Company in Paris today?
Sylvia Whitman, daughter of the second shop's founder George Whitman. She began working with him in the early 2000s and has owned the business since his death in 2011.
Is Sylvia Whitman related to Sylvia Beach?
No. George Whitman named his daughter after Sylvia Beach, founder of the original Shakespeare and Company, but the two booksellers were not related and their shops were separately owned businesses.
What did Sylvia Whitman add to the bookshop?
She expanded its events and festival program, developed publishing and interview projects, and opened the neighboring café while retaining the Tumbleweed lodging tradition created by her father.
Sourced claims
References
References
The sources below include biographies, scholarly essays, interviews, and primary materials that informed this page. They reflect both the historical record and ongoing critical conversations about Sylvia Whitman and their work.
1Our History
WebsiteShakespeare and CompanyUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Sylvia Whitman page.
2Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag & Bone Shop of the Heart
BiographyShakespeare and Company Paris, 2016Used forBiographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to Sylvia Whitman.
3Shakespeare and Company, a creative sanctuary
PeriodicalThe Guardian, 2010Used forContemporary reporting or criticism used to document the historical reception and context of Sylvia Whitman.
4Sylvia Whitman
PeriodicalPublishers Weekly, 2008Used forContemporary reporting or criticism used to document the historical reception and context of Sylvia Whitman.
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Why these sources are here
These references anchor the page in the documented record and in the scholarly conversations around Sylvia Whitman. Every claim on this page traces back to one or more of the works listed here.
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