Shakespeare and Company

This is Shakespeare's bookshop along the Seine near Notre Dame. If you're an English speaker in Paris you'll almost certainly have browsed through it's many volumes at one time or another. You might even have come along to one of the teas provided for customers every Sunday afternoon. What you might not be aware of is that several people live in the store they get free accommodation in exchange for helping out in the shop. Places are offered to struggling (in every sense) anglophone writers recently arrived in Paris.

What you get is pretty basic. You have a bed to sleep on but there are no showers and not much in the way of privacy. If you are allergic to cats or dusty books then you should look elsewhere. Doesn't sound much but makes a good story.