Book store, Rare book store
Faulkner House Books
William Faulkner finished his first novel, Soldiers' Pay, in this 1837 French Quarter townhouse, now a two-room bookshop of Southern literature, classics, poetry and rare first editions tucked down Pirates Alley.
The story
Faulkner lived here in the 1920s and wrote for the New Orleans literary journal Double Dealer. Attorney Joseph J. DeSalvo Jr. and his wife Rosemary James bought the building, restored it and opened the shop in 1988, living upstairs and befriending customers and authors alike. Photos of Harper Lee and Tennessee Williams hang among antiques and mahogany bookcases, just off Jackson Square and opposite St. Louis Cathedral's rear garden. Garner Robinson and Devereaux Bell took over in 2019, aiming to keep the store as it always was. Rare books and first editions sit in a glass case, alongside books by and about Faulkner and titles on New Orleans and Louisiana. Manager Joanne Sealy reads every book that comes in, and also picks three to five titles for each reader through a personalised subscription service.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Share a few details about what you like to read and the staff will suggest titles closely matched to your taste.
- ✦The shop is just two small rooms with limited capacity, so you may need to wait briefly to get in.
