By Leo van Zanen, Coco Hoek and Hetty den Brok On Thursday 19 June 2025 Hetty den Brok, Coco Hoek and Leo van Zanen drove to Assenede to admire the […]

Children’s Classics #5 Any series on children’s books, must, of course include that wonderful of bears, Winnie-the Pooh, hero of the books by A.A. Milne. Who hasn’t grown up with […]

Mayflower Bookshop invites you to a literary workshop (in English) to explore Edith Wharton’s world of wealth, ambition, and social constraint. This workshop will investigate how Wharton’s novels, especially The Age […]

Fourth event in our series Children’s classics Carmen van den Bergh On Sunday May 25, Carmen van den Bergh, associate professor of Italian at Leiden University, focuses on the famous […]

Traditionally, Mayflower Bookshop hosts a commemoration ceremony at wall poem Sonnet 30 at the corner of Rapenburg/ Houtstraat, with Leo van Zanen holding a short talk on the poem. The […]

Coming up: Mayflower Bookshop American special (English spoken) – Sold to the lowest bidder? Pleun Bouricius PhD, born and bred in the Netherlands, has lived in the USA for over […]

On Monday April 21, Easter Monday, Mayflower Bookshop hosts her annual commemoration of the Bard, on the day closest to his death date and (probable) birthday, April 23. Consisting of […]

On the sunny afternoon of March 30, Wim Tigges took us on a trip down memory to our childhood, the childhoord of our children and that of our grandchildren. As […]

As second event in our series Children’s Classics, we cannot omit  Dutch author Annie M.G. Schmidt and her rebellious children’s verses. During the ’50s Annie M.G. Schmidt (1911-1995) published eleven […]

On the sunny afternoon of February 23, Leo van Zanen opened Mayflower Bookshop’s series of Children’s Classics. Starting his lecture with alltime modern favourites as ‘Dan Dare’ and W.G. van […]

‘Die jeeste ende daventuren’  (Floris and Blancheflour) Medieval ‘young adult’ stories – Leo van Zanen (lecture in Dutch) After our series ‘Great Books’ and ‘Great Loves’ we start 2025 with […]

On Saturday, January 25th, Mayflower Bookshop hosted an intimate performance by the Theo Naishtat Trio as part of the Leiden Blues and Jazz Week. The bookshop transformed into a cozy […]

From January 20th to 26th, the annual Leidse Blues & Jazz Week returns, and once again, Mayflower Bookshop is proud to be part of this exciting event. This year, we […]

On December 19th, traditionally the reading of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol took place, in a snug atmosphere in our bookshop, for an audience that likes to begin its Christmas, as […]

As Christmas approaches, Mayflower Bookshop presents her two traditional Christmas classics: ‘A Christmas Carol’ and, for the last time, ‘Dinner for One’! On Thursday December 19 at 1930, Mayflower’s Freek […]

11.45 – 18.00 On October 16th, Oscar Wilde was born 170 years ago; reason for Mayflower Bookshop to organize a festival on November 10th about this fascinating 19th poet and […]

On the last Sunday in October, retired German teacher and translator of poetry Hans van der Veen gave the last lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s series Great Loves on Theodor Fontane’s […]

On Sunday October 27, Mayflower Bookshop Great Loves series presents Theodor Fontane’s masterpiece Effi Briest as the 7th lecture in the series. Published in book form in 1895, Effi Briest […]

In a packed Mayflower Bookshop, the audience listened spellbound as French coach and literature expert Coco Hoek talked to us about the great French author and her succès de scandale, […]

On Sunday September 22, Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series will feature Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan as the sixth event in the series.  Bonjour Tristesse took the world by storm as […]

In a packed Mayflower Bookshop, the audience listened spellbound as Slavic literature expert, communications consultant and journalist Louis Smit told us about the Russian literary tradition in the 19th century, […]

On Sunday August 25, Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series will feature ‘Anna Karenina’ by Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy as the fifth event in the series. After ‘War and Peace’, this was […]

On the last Sunday afternoon in June, the fourth Great Loves Lecture took place at Mayflower Bookshop. This month literary scholar Wim Tigges was our guest-lecturer, giving an inspiring talk […]

On June 30th, Wim Tigges will tells us about the great love between Cathy and Heathcliff in the fourth GREAT LOVES event. Wuthering Heights (1847), Emily Brontë’s only novel, has […]

On one of the many rainy afternoons this May, the third Great Loves Lecture took place at Mayflower Bookshop. The subject of this lecture was Emilio and Angiolina from Italo […]

As the third event in our series Great Loves, we travel to the Italy of Italo Svevo. We would probably never have heard of Italo Svevo (pseudonym of Ettore Schmitz […]

On Easter Sunday and Easter Monday our shops are open from 12-17h.

This year, our annual commemoration ceremony of William Shakespeare also features our second event in the ‘Great Loves’ series, focusing on the iconic love story of Romeo and Juliet. On […]

Join us for a discussion of three recently published books on artistic explorations of volcanoes, Queer politics and Dutch rugby and a drawing book! Reading Sideways Press is an independent […]

Great Loves series Following our successful ‘Great Books’ series in 2023, we are now launching a new international series: ‘Great loves’. This series will cover different types of love: the […]

In a packed Mayflower Bookshop, Prof. Ingrid Tieken fascinated all present Jane Austen fans with her fascinating talk on the wills of Jane Austen, Jane’s mother and her sister Cassandra. […]

On Sunday, February 18, linguist and anglicist Prof. Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade will treat us to a lecture on  much beloved novelist Jane Austen. Not so much on Austen’s novels, […]

Mayflower Bookshop contributed this year to Dutch Poetry Week with a lecture on Lord Byron’s poetry, his life and his loves, as 2024 commemorates the bicentenary of his death. Tigges […]

Watch here an impression of the Bookshop Concert by Wouter Hamel during the Leiden Blues & Jazz Week 2024 on January 18, 2024.

Sunday January 28, 2024: 16.00 In April 1816, the notorious George, sixth Lord Byron, was leaving England for the final time. Hounded by increasingly damaging accusations – of adultery, sodomy […]

Mayflower Bookshop will be a unique venue during the Leiden Blues and Jazz Week, featuring a performance by international artist Wouter Hamel on January 18 at 7:30 pm. The intimate […]

In december, Mayflower Bookshop hosted her two Christmas classics: ‘Dinner for One’  and ‘A Christmas Carol’: once again, both events enjoyed great success!! On December 17th, the two matinee performances […]

As Christmas approaches, Mayflower Bookshop presents her two traditional Christmas classics: ‘Dinner for One’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’! Dinner for One, a classic on German television for over 40 years […]

On Sunday November 26, anglicist and scholar Ruud Hisgen concluded Mayflower Bookshop’s series ‘Great Books’ with a lecture on Miguel Cervantes’ all-time classic The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. […]

On Sunday November 26, Ruud Hisgen, anglicist, literary scholar and writer, will conclude our Great Books series with a lecture on the Spanish classic ‘El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de […]

On Sunday October 29th, people flocked to Mayflower Bookshop, braving the bad weather to enjoy the fifth event of our series Great Books: the German classic ‘Die Leiden des Jungen […]

On Sunday, October 29th, germanist and performer Hans van der Veen will give a talk on Goethe’s famous epistolary novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (The sufferings of young Werther). […]

On September 24th, Coco Hoek  took us to 18th c France for the fourth lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series. Hoek, who studied French in Leiden, painted a vivid […]

On Sunday September 24th, Coco Hoek will give the fourth lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series, featuring the famous novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (In Dutch: Gevaarlijk spel met de […]

On the evening of Friday, September 1st, the Pride event ‘Pink Books’ took place at Mayflower Bookshop, featuring the renowned guest speaker Splinter Chabot. Chabot was interviewed by Mayflower Bookshop’s […]

For the third event in Mayflower Bookshop’s series Great Books, people flocked to hear Louis Smit’s fascinating lecture on the Russian author Nicolai Gogol and on his play The Government […]

Mayflower Bookshop proudly reveals the names of the distinguished participants who will be joining us for the “Pink Books” event: Freek Bouricius, interviewer (Mayflower Bookshop)Splinter Chabot (author and television producer)Felix […]

You are cordially invited to join us on Friday September 1st at 8:00 PM at Mayflower Bookshop, Breestraat 70, for an extraordinary Mayflower Special: “Pink Books,” marking the essence of […]

On Sunday August 27th, Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series will feature Nikolai Gogol’s play ‘The Government Inspector’ (In Dutch: De Revisor) as the third lecture in this series. Gogol (1809-1852), […]

On the sweltering afternoon of Sunday June 25, people flocked to Mayflower Bookshop, looking for the treat of an enlightening literary lecture in the soothing environment of a cool bookshop, […]

On June 25, Mayflower Bookshop presents the second lecture in the Great Books series: Herman Melville’s stylistic masterpiece Moby Dick, or, The Whale (1851). Guest-lecturer, anglicist and literary scholar Wim […]

Despite the beckoning sun, people flocked this Whit Sunday to Mayflower Bookshop, where poet and performer Leo van Zanen gave the first lecture in the ‘Great Books’ series. Starting by […]

Mayflower Bookshop presents a series of lectures on international masterpieces: GREAT BOOKS. Poet and performer Leo van Zanen kicks off this series on Sunday May 28th with his lecture “DOOR […]

On April 23rd, Mayflower Bookshop commemorated 400 years since the first Folio was published, as well as the Bard’s death and (probable) birthday. The first Folio, the first time all […]

2023 marks the fourth centennial of the publication of the ‘First Folio’, which was published in 1623, seven years after the death of William Shakespeare. This collection of 36 of […]

On a sunlit International Children’s Book Day, April 2, Mayflower Bookshop marked this special day with an event about the world and language of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, created by […]

To celebrate International Children’s Book Day, Mayflower Bookshop organises a lecture on the famous Winnie-the-Pooh, hero of the books by A.A. Milne. Who hasn’t grown up with Winnie-the-Pooh and his […]

On Sunday March 19, Mayflower Bookshop marked the Dutch Book Week with an interview with Maxim Osipov, Russian refugee, author and publisher. Osipov was interviewed by Mayflower’s Freek Bouricius in […]

To celebrate Bookweek 2023 (March 11 – 19) Mayflower Bookshop is proud to welcome Maxim Osipov on Sunday March 12 for an interview on his recently published book Kilometer 101, […]

Poetry Week in Leiden was given an international twist on February 29 with a tribute to Scottish poetry by Scottish Leiden resident Adrian Young. In full regalia with kilt, Young […]

Sunday January 29th, 16h00 – Breestraat 70 Traditionally, Dutch Poetry Week is celebrated in Mayflower Bookshop with a poetry event on the last Sunday of January. This year, Mayflower Bookshop […]

After two years of COVID, Mayflower Bookshop reinitiated its tradition of performing  the comedy sketch ‘Dinner for One’ on Sunday December 18. Amidst the books in the treasury of Mayflower […]

Finally, we can resume our Christmas traditions of ‘Dinner for One’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’! Dinner for One, a classic on German television for over 40 years (but less well […]

On November 27th, Mayflower Bookshop presents a pilot: Mayflower Masterclass, a new format, in which an expert in a specific field leads the discussion on a theme in literature. Attendants […]

Following a short interview, in which he explained how he became a dedicated bookhistorian, and talked about his interest in the printing press as a means of influencing politics, Anglo-Dutch relations […]

Despite the rain, the Scots event taking place this afternoon was well frequented; a great many people came along who were very much interested in Scotland and its literature, culture, […]

Orignally hailing from Scotland himself, avid St Pieter’s Church guide and devoted Commissioner of the Leiden 3 October Vereeniging Adrian Young will give a talk (in Dutch) on Scots literature. […]

Fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular detectives in the history of the English detective story. But just how popular, was shown on Sunday August 28th, 135 […]

On 28 August, Wim Tigges PhD, will give a lecture on Sherlock Holmes, legendary character from the history of the British detective, and on his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. […]

Nhã Thuyên, our guest on Sunday June 26th, is this year’s Poet-in-Residence at Poetry International, the Rotterdam-based poetry festival, one of the largest in Europe. During the interview at Mayflower […]

Visiting poet: Nhã Thuyên  We are very happy to welcome to Mayflower Bookshop Vietnamese poet Nhã Thuyên, this year’s Poet in Residence at the 52nd edition of Poetry International (June […]

Picking up on her tradition of annually commemorating the passing (and probable date of birth) of William Shakespeare (also known as The Bard or the Swan of Avon) on April […]

Op 24 april a.s. hervat Mayflower Bookshop haar jaarlijkse herdenking van de grootste Engelse dichter aller tijden, William Shakespeare, ook wel bekend als The Bard.Ter nagedachtenis aan zijn sterfdag op […]

On a sunlit Easter Monday, Mayflower concluded the Boekenweek 2022 with a book presentation by Leo van Zanen on his volume of verse ‘De Bezoeker’ (the visitor), published in 2021 […]

The ‘Boekenweek’ theme ‘First love’ was amply covered during the first activity of this week at Mayflower Bookshop. Wim Tigges’ talk on his book ‘Hartstocht achter de horren’ (passion behind […]

In the context of the Dutch Boekenweek (which actually lasts 10 days!), Mayflower Bookshop organizes two special Dutch events, relating to the theme of this week: Homage to first love! […]

To the sweet-voiced sounds of folk band Fiddle ’n Drum, Mayflower Bookshop’s new location, Mayflower XTRA, slowly filled up for our St. Patrick’s Day Event. The band, consisting of Martijn […]

an Irish afternoon at Mayflower Bookshop Lecture by dr. Wim Tigges Live music by ‘Fiddle ‘n Drum’ Don’t miss our celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with a talk by dr. […]

You find our XTRA shop right next to your familiar Mayflower Bookshop in Leiden, on the opposite side of the Catharinasteeg, in the venue formerly known as LVC. In this […]

We open our shops by January 15th. Welcome!

Mayflower Bookshop opened this week for click&collect every day 1200 -1700, so you can buy your presents in time for Xmas!

Due to the fact that once more we need preserve 1,5 metres distance at events, we have had to cancel our Sherlock Holmes event on November 28th. We are working […]

Today, Mayflower Bookshop opened a new shop in The Hague! You find our shop at Lange Poten 35. Feel free to come in and browse our collection of both second-hand […]

On 1 November 2021 Mayflower Bookshop will move from its current location at Breestraat 142 to a new venue: Breestraat 70 (corner Catharinasteeg). To add lustre to the move, Mayflower […]

NOW: 50% discount on all books in our pre-move sale at Breestraat 142! Only 14 days to go to our move to Breestraat 70!

A wonderful start of a new Mayflower Bookshop event season, in the new location! Played by our own Freek Bouricius under the direction of Sigrid de Zwart, Shirley Valentine is […]

Mayflower Bookshop moves to Breestraat 70 After five years, it is time for a new chapter in the Mayflower Bookshop-adventure! On October 31st, we are leaving our premises at Breestraat […]