For many people, books provided an escape during the Coronavirus pandemic.
And for Emma Hanlett, they've also offered her a different route out of it too - via a van named Cordelia. Emma was part of the team which brought the Lindisfarne Gospels and Magna Carta to Durham in 2013 and 2015 respectively, but she quit her job as a museum curator in 2020 to "explore her options".
After a bit of soul searching, she started Collected Books in April this year both online and from the back of her van. In just five months she's built up enough of a following to open a bookshop in Durham. Specialising in women's words, Emma hopes that she can bring "brilliant writing" to the masses.
