It could be the title of a novel or a mystery film. But no. A night in the secret library is the unique experience that two people will have next week in one of the most hidden places in London: the library of St Paul's Cathedral. A unique place with a lot of history, as well as many books: 22,000, including medieval manuscripts or incunabula.
The last architect of the building, Sir Christopher Wren, specially designed it more than 300 years ago to be hidden from view. Having just been restored, the room will be available through airbnb to spend the night of next Friday. Only this one. And with a good purpose: to celebrate Book Day, which in the UK falls on the first Thursday of March.
I don't know if the two lucky people who get the reservation that opens on Tuesday at 11:00 CET (for those who want to encourage themselves to try) and that only costs 7 pounds, will sleep a lot or a little. Yes, they will have so many old books in bed, but what bibliophile will be able to fall asleep in front of so many historical pages to read?
One of the most important volumes it treasures is William Tyndale's New Testament (1526), the first holy book translated and printed in English and of which only three copies survive in the world. Its author defended being able to maintain a direct relationship with God, without ecclesiastical intermediaries. Obviously, his ideas were not to the liking of the authorities at the time. He ended up being executed and his books burned in public, like those in this same cathedral that now boasts of him. Ironies of life.
We don't know whether or not the lucky ones who manage to rent the library will be able to consult its most precious treasures, but the experience does include a tour of the cathedral, dinner at a nearby restaurant, breakfast and the gift of signed and sealed copies from the next of kin books from Penguin Random House US. The stay ends with a visit to another unique place: the dome, which Wren designed based on that of the Vatican; Michelangelo, in Florence; and, Brunelleschi, in that of the Pantheon in Rome. What an artistic chain!
The initiative of St Paul's Cathedral is one that is worth imitating, especially for those of us who will stay with it. What other historical sites are animated?
