Nick Cave Donates 2,000 Books from Personal Library to Charity

Renowned musician and writer Nick Cave has generously donated approximately 2,000 books from his private collection to charity.

The acclaimed rocker cleared out his extensive home library, handing over volumes covering a broad spectrum of subjects — including philosophy, art, religion, history, and fiction — to the Oxfam Bookshop in Hove, East Sussex. Cave previously resided in the seaside town for over a decade with his wife, Susie. The donated books went on sale last week (17 July 2025), priced between £2.99 and £4.99.

Ian Falkingham, who facilitated the donation, told The Sunday Times: “Apart from the fact he’s an extremely famous person, it’s very similar to what happens all over the country all the time. You’ve got to make space in your house for the next set of books, don’t you?”

A shop assistant at the Hove branch, identified only as Richard, spoke to The Argus, describing the donation as “very interesting”.

“The types of books are very wide-ranging – there’s philosophy, art, religion, even old fiction paperbacks,” he said. “It’s an incredibly varied donation. He clearly held on to his books – some of them are quite old.”

Richard added that many of the books had previously featured in a touring art exhibition before being placed into storage.

Although the books are not officially labelled as having come from Cave’s private collection, fans browsing the shelves have been thrilled to discover handwritten notes and annotations from the singer inside several copies. Some books have even included personal keepsakes, such as airline tickets, maps, and cigarette packets tucked between pages.

Cave’s publicist told The Sunday Times: “He thinks the discoveries will remain intriguing mysteries for those who find them.”

According to the publication, one of the donated items was a copy of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, signed by playwright Martin McDonagh, with the message: “Nick, Hope you like it. It’s kind of mental.”

Among other notable finds are novels by Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan, as well as a rare first edition of Johnny Cash’s Man in White.

Cave and his wife Susie lived in Hove — which forms part of the city of Brighton and Hove — until the tragic death of their 15-year-old son, Arthur, in 2015, who passed away after falling from a cliff. The couple later relocated to Los Angeles and now spend much of their time in London.

Writing on his Red Hand Files blog, Cave once shared how the lyrics of his song Heart That Kills You help explain their decision to leave Brighton.

“The words of the song go some way toward articulating why Susie and I moved from Brighton to L.A. Brighton had just become too sad. We did, however, return once we realised that, regardless of where we lived, we just took our sadness with us,” he wrote.

“These days, though, we spend much of our time in London, in a tiny, secret, pink house, where we are mostly happy.”