From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to T.S Eliot: London Library's most literary members go digital
Members of the public can now browse the institution's collection online, thanks to the recent digitisation of their membership records.
A note confirming the death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is among the 70,000 pieces of literary history that members of the public can now browse online, thanks to the recent digitisation of the London Library’s membership records.
The ledgers and membership forms, which list the library’s many notable members from 1841, had previously been stored in some 300 tightly bound, fragile volumes.
‘My question was, how can we save this most precious part of the library’s history and make it accessible to everyone?’ said Nathalie Belkin, the institution’s first dedicated archivist, who took up the post in 2019. Over almost two years, each volume was carefully disbound by Oxfordshire specialist Temple Bookbinders, before every individual page was scanned and transcribed by heritage digitisation firm TownsWeb.
The process revealed some surprises — even for those already very familiar with the archive. ‘We had Conan Doyle’s membership form, but we didn’t know there was a notification of his death among the records,’ said Belkin. Another discovery was that the playwright Terence Rattigan (1911–77) actually joined the library twice: once as a student and again after finding success.
Founded by Thomas Carlyle in 1841, the London Library moved to its present home in St James’s Square in 1845. Among its many treasures are a 1611 King James Bible and a Fourth Folio of Shakespeare. Its list of members features Alfred Lord Tennyson, T. S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh and Daphne du Maurier.
It has appeared in several novels, too, such as On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Ian Fleming was a member) and A. S. Byatt’s Possession.
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This feature originally appeared in the July 29, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
