Munro’s Books: A literature lover’s dynasty

Back in 1984, Victoria bookseller Jim Munro noticed that the old Royal Bank building on Government Street was up for sale. “I rashly bought it,” he says with a laugh. “It was sheer megalomania. Everybody thought I was crazy.”

The building had an interesting history. According to Victoria: The Unknown City, “The basement used to be a pistol range, where bank clerks practiced fending off thieves; according to legend the place is still haunted by the ghost of a teller who got caught with her hand in Jim Munro (Courtesy of Munro’s Books)the till and hung herself in the vault."

Although Munro’s Books had been around since 1963 in three different downtown locations, Munro says the new location “was awfully big for the time. It was probably the largest independent bookstore in Canada.” Before he restored the heritage building to its current grandeur, “it was hideously modernized. We tore off everything and underneath the linoleum was a marble floor.”

Munro’s Books is regarded by many as Canada’s finest independent bookstore. In its earliest incarnation—a long, skinny shop tucked away among the movie theatres on Yates Street—Munro capitalized on “the paperback revolution.” While established booksellers considered paperbacks second-class, he thought “getting all the good novels and the classics out at reasonable prices would be the big attraction. And it certainly worked.”

Munro’s Books on Government Street
(Courtesy of Munro’s Books)

That early success led to a move into an expanded store on Fort Street in 1979 and a satellite branch in Market Square. But Munro’s Books really established itself with the move into the current location. Tourists flock to 1108 Government Street as much to snap a photo of its classical façade as to browse its well-stocked shelves. And locals love it, too.

You can’t help but feel a sense of tradition beneath its 24-foot coffered ceiling. The high walls are decorated with tapestries created by Munro’s wife, artist Carole Sabiston. She is his second wife, of course—his first wife was the now world-famous author, Alice Munro, who participated in the business until their divorce in 1972.

What makes Munro’s Books so special? In addition to its gorgeous décor, it offers a diverse and extensive range of books, and boasts an intelligent and welcoming staff, all of whom share Jim Munro’s passion for books. Recognizing the benefits of a good staff, Munro rewards them with a 50-50 split of store profits.

Munro, who won a Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Bookseller of the Year Award last year, is still at the helm of the business at 76. “I’m in really good health, but I haven’t got the energy that I had ten years ago.” He has not set a retirement date, but he has started handing off some of his responsibilities to senior staff. “We’re planning a long dynasty.”

Presented with the idea that he should write a novel because he knows the book business so well, Jim Munro laughs. “No, my ex-wife is already a writer,” he says. “I might write a memoir some day, though.”