Ann Saville, who made Taylor Books ‘the heart of the city,’ dies at 90

Born Ann Taylor in 1934 in southeast London, England, she grew up with four brothers. During World War II, like more than a million other British children, she was twice evacuated to the countryside. A self-described “city slicker,� she remembered being coaxed into leaping into a cow patty by classmates.

“I was raised in bloody London,� she recalled later in her British accent. “I didn’t know one end of a cow from the other.�

In London, she trained as a nurse. In 1958, she and her husband, Dr. Paul Saville, immigrated to New York City for his medical fellowship at Cornell University. They became U.S. citizens in 1964, later spending time in Omaha, Nebraska, and Morgantown before settling in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä in 1975, where Dr. Saville began his rheumatology practice.

Saville pursued her own studies, earning a psychology degree from Morris Harvey College and teaching at the University of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. But it was her decision two decades later to bring a bookstore downtown that would leave the deepest mark.

How Saville created Taylor Books

In 1995, Saville purchased a run-down Capitol Street building and transformed it into Taylor Books — not just a bookstore, but a coffee shop, art gallery, micro-cinema, bakery, and gathering place. For 25 years, she rose before dawn each day to bake scones and muffins, carrying them down a spiral staircase from her apartment above the shop.

Taylor Books quickly became — in the words of her longtime friend Paula Clendenin — “the heart of the city.â€� Its opening marked the beginning of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s downtown renaissance, and to this day it remains a hub for readers, artists, and community members.

Saville’s entrepreneurial spirit didn’t stop there. At 79, she opened ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s first brewpub, ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Brewing Co., after trying her hand at homebrewing. She was also widely known for her living-history performances as Eleanor Roosevelt, a role she researched and embodied with passion.

'A well-lived life'

In later years, Saville tended her rooftop garden above Taylor Books, where her self-described “green thumb� coaxed life from blueberries, geraniums, and hostas. She was rarely without her cats, Ethel and Fred.

Clendenin praised her "generous" spirit when celebrating Saville's 90th birthday last year, noting, “She brought culture and beauty and coolness for us all.�

“She built [Taylor Books],� said Dan Carlisle, the current bookshop owner who began as a bookseller in 2009 and took over ownership of Taylor Books in 2021.

Ann Saville’s life was, as Clendenin described it, “a well-lived life� — one that will continue to shape the city she made her home.

Saville is survived by her five children — Ted, John, Sarah, George and David — and a legacy deeply rooted in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s cultural life. No funeral arrangements have been announced yet.