author
Stuart Brent
1912–2010
A legendary Chicago bookseller, he turned an independent bookstore into a gathering place for serious readers, writers, and curious browsers. His memoir captures a life spent championing literature with strong opinions, sharp wit, and real devotion to books.
1 Audiobook
The seven stairs
by Stuart Brent
About the author
Born in 1912, Stuart Brent became one of Chicago’s best-known independent booksellers. He studied at the University of Chicago, served in the Army during World War II, and after the war opened a small shop on Rush Street that he called the Seven Stairs.
That first store grew into Stuart Brent Books on North Michigan Avenue, a destination for readers in Chicago for decades. Accounts from the University of Chicago Press and the American Writers Museum describe him as an influential figure in the city’s literary life, known for a carefully chosen stock of fiction, art, and nonfiction and for encouraging serious reading.
Brent later wrote the memoir The Seven Stairs, reflecting on his years in bookselling and the world that formed around his store. He retired in the 1990s and died in 2010 at age 98.