Obituary

Ian Norrie obituary

Bookseller and writer who made his mark on London's literary life
  • The Guardian,
Ian Norrie
Norrie, left, at his bookshop in 1960, celebrating 25 years of Penguin Books with Bruce Hepburn, the firm’s sales director

Ian Norrie, who has died aged 82, was one of the outstanding bookmen of his generation. The term "bookman" may seem old-fashioned (and does not admit of "bookwomen"), but it aptly describes a man whose devotion to the world of books and writing extended far beyond his primary occupation as a bookseller.

Ian's father was a Scottish pharmacist, and though there was nothing very Scottish in Ian's accent or demeanour, an air of the nonconformist and dissenter clung to him. He was born in Dover, and spent his childhood on the south coast. He attended Skinner's school, in Tunbridge Wells, and in 1944 became an articled pupil at the Eastbourne Gazette. In September 1945 he was called up for national service in the RAF, and spent most of his two years in India "doing nothing", as he put it.

On his return to England, he joined the bookseller Martyn Goff in his shop in Seaford, Sussex. Goff, who later became the administrator and éminence grise of the Booker Prize, was to have a lasting influence over Ian's career. Ian worked briefly at the London bookshop Foyle's, and his relationship with Christina Foyle remained ambivalent. She was brilliant but difficult, and Ian was not good with difficult people. Much later he turned her into a character in a novel, Brought to Book (2003).

After several years working for the booksellers William Jackson's and Alfred Wilson's, during which time he met Alan Steele, who would become his business partner, Ian set up a small bookshop in Hampstead, north London, in 1956. Curiously, the area had had no shop selling new books until then. Hampstead provided an excellent stage for Ian's talents, its streets teeming with writers, actors and artists, many of whom became his friends. All he knew of this shop when he moved in was that it was owned by a mysterious Mr X, who, it was subsequently established, had bought it as a tax write-off. In a splendid irony, Mr X turned out to be Foyle.

The High Hill Bookshop, later much expanded, became one of the leading independent bookshops in Britain. Until Tim Waterstone started his chain in 1982, there was really no alternative to bookshops such as this. It provided a personalised service, attuned to the tastes of its clientele. Ian was a commanding presence on the shop floor. I worked for him in the late 1970s and often stood at the front desk while he dealt with publishers' representatives, "subscribing" (ordering) new books and lecturing the reps on the shortcomings of their masters' lists.

Ian was never less than forthright in his views, and never less than willing to express them. A sign in the children's department read "Parents of Progressive Children Only Admitted on Leads". When selling a copy of Racine's Andromaque to Jonathan Miller, he said: "I suppose this is the next one you're going to mess about with." But he was a truly great bookseller, reading widely and eclectically, and he was ably supported by his partners, who included John Ford, Doreen Gotch and Trisha Nunn.

The High Hill Bookshop served Hampstead until 1988 when, in the face of competition from Waterstone's and the collapse of the library market, it closed. For years Ian had fended off competition, but eventually he had to acknowledge that the world of bookselling had changed, and that it was no longer as congenial to him as it had been.

Ian's other literary activities included being a publisher (the High Hill Press published Christopher Wade's classic The Streets of Hampstead, among others), being secretary and later chairman of the Society of Bookmen, being deeply involved with the National Book League, and being a member of the management committee of the Booker Prize. It was Ian who persuaded Sir Michael Caine, the chief executive of Booker, to delay the announcement of the winner of the prize until the last moment, thus heightening drama and tension.

As an author, Ian's interests were similarly wide-ranging. In 1982, he updated Mumby's Publishing and Bookselling in the 20th Century, the definitive history compiled by Frank Mumby, and wrote fiction, autobiography and travel books.

In his private life Ian was blessed with a wife, Mavis, who was his perfect foil, and with two daughters, Jessica and Amanda. He was a lifelong theatre-goer, and possessed remarkable recall for the productions and stars of the plays he had seen over a period of more than 60 years. It was fitting that he should become a pillar of the Garrick Club, whose members are traditionally drawn from the stage and publishing, as well as the bar. He was an inveterate traveller, with a particular love of Provence and Tuscany, and wrote engagingly about his travels. Indeed, after Mavis died in 1998, travel became his principal interest.

He is survived by his daughters.

Ian Norrie, bookseller, writer and publisher, born 3 August 1927; died 12 September 2009

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