Profile Books

The executive producer was Ellie Bury.

This is an edited extract of The Invention of Essex, The Making of an English County, published on 1 June by Profile Books and available to order at guardianbookshop.com.

For more Guardian Long Reads in text and a selection in audio, go to theguardian.com forward slash longread.

Connecting stories and lives that span centuries, countries and continents, the book brings us into the beloved bookshops of today and looks forward to the possible experiences of of booksellers tomorrow.

The book is called The Bookshop, A History of Bookselling from the Dawn of Print to the 21st Century, published by Profile Books in Hardback.

The author is Andrew Pettigree.

Well, Andrew, you're very welcome to the show.

Well, it's a wonderful new book.

It's called The Bookshop, A History of Bookselling from the Dawn of Print to the 21st Century.

It's published in hardback by Profile Books.

The author is Andrew Pettigree.