Presented as a new one-way route showcasing the greatest works from our literary, scientific, music, art and sacred texts collections, discover the stories that have shaped the world – while keeping a safe distance from others.

The new route will lead you past works of genius such as the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, detailing his marvellous inventions, and the laboratory notes of Marilyn Monk and Cathy Holding, pioneers of genetic diagnosis. You’ll travel through Africa, Asia and Europe via the history of the book, and discover religious texts from across the world including The Ma’il Qur’an, the Library's oldest Qur'an manuscript.

You can picture yourself at the desk of great writers as you look at handwritten manuscripts from the Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, and Andrea Levy’s working drafts for Small Island and The Long Song. And you’ll have the chance to get close to the works of musical maestros from Mozart to McCartney.

If you’ve been here before, you might notice the gallery looks a little different. This is to give you enough room to enjoy the displays and keep everyone safe. We’ve also moved Magna Carta to provide a safe space for everyone to see this most significant of royal charters.