Coming up: Musical fairy tale “Peter and the wolf” at Mayflower Bookshop “The duck that quacked in the wolf’s belly” “Peter and the wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev takes centre stage at Mayflower Bookshop in Leiden on Sunday, August 31. At 4pm that day, expert in Slavic literature and languages Louis Smit will give a lecture […]
On Friday September 5, during the 2025 Leiden Pride, Mayflower Bookshop will focus on the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the LGBTQ+ community and their literature during the 1980s and 1990s. This epidemic had a devastating and still tangible impact on the lives of many, as countless people lost loved ones to the disease […]
Book presentation by Nicolas Journoud Of Bikes and Men (of the Netherlands) is a fun, illustrated book about the endless ways people — and sometimes even animals — ride bicycles in the Netherlands, and what that reveals about the country. It’s also a book about the part of our humanity that the bicycle brings out […]
Introducing the brand-new Mayflower Book Club! We’re excited to announce the launch of the Mayflower Book Club! Starting on October 22, we’ll meet on Wednesdays at 8 pm once a month to discuss the current book pick, which will be available at a reduced price at Mayflower Bookshop. Each session, participants get to vote for […]
Coco Hoek on Sans Famille As last lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s series on children’s classics, Coco Hoek, expert on French literature, will treat us to a talk on the 19th century French classic ‘Sans famille’, a book that enthralled generations of Dutch children under the title Alleen op de wereld (in English: Nobody’s boy). Sans […]
On Sunday, November 9, Mayflower Bookshop welcomes translators Henk Akkermans and Wim Boot for an afternoon devoted to a fascinating form of Japanese poetry: the renga (連歌), or “linked verse.” The event (in Dutch) will take place from 4:00 to 5:00 PM at Mayflower Bookshop. Their talk marks the publication of De renga-meester - Alle […]
Nederlandstalig programma Bijdragen van: Coco Hoek, Ad Kaptein, Louis Smit, Ingrid Tieken, Wim Tigges, Leo van Zanen en de Mayflower Theatre Company Moderator: Freek Bouricius Jane Austen: Esther Straathof (Mayflower Theatre Company) 11.45: Introductie + interview Jane Austen Freek Bouricius (Mayflower Bookshop) 12.00: Jane Austen verliefd Prof. dr. Ingrid Tieken – Boon van Ostade, anglist […]
Our November Book of the Month comes from acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, known for Americanah and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Her new novel Dream Count follows Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer living in America, as she reflects on love, loss, and the choices that shape her life. Around her move […]
As the year winds down, the next gathering is approaching, and returning participants are warmly invited to join once again for the last session of 2025. Many expressed interest during the previous session, so this serves as a gentle reminder that the doors remain open: no sign-up required. December will take a different shape: instead […]
On Thursday December 18 at 1930, Mayflower's Freek Bouricius will continue Mayflower's Christmas tradition with a reading of a slightly shortened version of Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. This timeless Christmas story is the perfect perparation for your Christmas!
As an ode to recently deceased British actress Pauline Collins, the Mayflower Theatre Company plays Shirley Valentine’s Sunday Dinner, a short monologue from the play Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell (and from the film by the same title, starring Pauline Collins as Shirley). British housewife Shirley Valentine, alone with a bottle of wine on Sunday […]
Book launch and Live podcast recording - in English On January 5, Mayflower Bookshop will host a book launch and live podcast event for Inger Kuin’s Diogenes: The Rebellious Life and Revolutionary Philosophy of the Original Cynic (Basic Books, 2025). The book is about the life and thought of Diogenes the Cynic, an iconoclastic philosopher […]