In 1826, Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) published a less well-known novel - The Last Man - that was set around 2100 and was an apocalyptic story about a world devastated by plague.

It received a shock horror reaction from the critics and was a popular disaster. In Mary’s plague world, only one man was left alive, but apart from that difference (hopefully) with today, she does a very good job of prophesising the implications of a pandemic and social and political behaviour.

When traditional ‘prestigious’ publishers refused to publish Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, because they were scared of a backlash against its irreligious themes, James Lackington stepped up.

He was the first of the modern booksellers and visionary in his approach.

Coming to London from Somerset with just two shillings and sixpence, he went on to open the biggest bookshop in London, on Finsbury Square. It was so big and opulent that James had a coach and four horses driven through the shop on its opening.