[4] In her obituary in the journal History Workshop, to which she had lent her support, Raphael Samuel described her socialism as "a living thing, a matter of thought, criticism and conviction," and built upon "personal loyalties nourished by a lifetime's activity.
The bookshop at 66 Charing Cross Road already existed as a radical bookshop, Henderson's, nicknamed "the bomb shop"; on the death of the owner, F. R. Henderson, in 1934 it was bought by Eva Collet Reckitt, and Olive Parsons became a founder director.
After World War II Collet's expanded by opening branches in Manchester, Glasgow, Moscow, Prague and New York.
[7] According to the Radical Bookshop History Project, Eva Collet Reckitt "had a broad policy on stock but drew the line at “those mysterious world religions” and “phoney psychology”.
[8] The entry for Collet's in Driff's Guide to All the Secondhand & Antiquarian Bookshops in Britain (1985–86) says "Colletts 52 Charing X Rd ...sml stk on s/h penguins ... there is also a small bsmt rm of political bks in the Collets [sic] two doors along but rumoured to be closing".