Helene Hanff's Beloved Novel "84, Charing Cross Road"

Antonio AMATO: Una raccolta di lettere tra una scrittrice americana ed un libraio inglese, che mai si conosceranno nella vita al di fuori del loro rapporto epistolare.
Gli ordini, le richieste di libri e le comunicazioni di servizio fanno da pretesto a riflessioni sulla vita e sulla letteratura, arguzie, parole d'amicizia e gesti affettuosi.
Piccolo ma brillantissimo.
Ne è stato tratto un film che, contrariamente a quanto accade sovente, è all'altezza del libro.

Italy on Nov 02, 2023

Gary D: I step back in time.

United States on Oct 18, 2023

Lucy S.: I first read this back in the seventies and loved it. One of the best of it's type. Only wish Hanff had written more books. Do yourself a favor and get this one and the sequel. Wonderful books !!

United States on Sep 03, 2023

jmb: This book is absolutely delightful and sweet. The book is composed of letters to and from Helene Hanff (a writer), and a British bookseller, in chronological order, over 20 years. There is no need for an explanatory narrative of this long-distance, collegial relationship. As you read, this book reveals the evolution of getting to know someone over the years and across the miles simply through correspondence. The letters start off a bit stiff from the seller and sometimes sardonic from the writer and evolve to incredibly endearing and funny on both sides, all while conducting the business of ordering and selling books through the post. The bittersweet ending makes you realize how invested you were in these people after slightly less than 100 pages. This is just a really great, short, sweet and unique book.

United States on Mar 15, 2023

Jane P: I’ve never seen the film but loved the letters in the original book ‘84 Charing Cross Road’. It is easy to visualise the characters and their way of life told through the letters. The second half of this book is the sequel ‘The Duchess of Bloomsbury’ which is equally delightful, reading about Helene’s visit to London.

United Kingdom on Mar 03, 2023

Linby: I've read this book before, many years ago, but this is the first time I have had an edition which includes the sequel book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. I also hadn't realised how much the film changes the story (as usual!).

The first book consists purely of letters between Helene Hanff (yes, this really happened) and the staff at Marks & Co - in the main Frank Doel. Helene has that smart mouth New York way of writing and it is really so entertaining, I just loved it.

The second book is when Helene finally gets to London in the 60s and I loved this book even more. Maybe because she stays in Bloomsbury an area I know well and even the hotel I regularly used to stay in - which makes it seem all the more special to me now.

She sees London and trips further afield through the eyes of a New Yorker and it is just so entertaining. These are the days before mobile phones and it was a joy to read of her receiving notes inviting her to be somewhere, sometimes at short notice and her then trying to find her way around London. It's a fantastic trip back into the past.

I've now ordered Helene Hanff's others books which include an autobiography - I want to...

United Kingdom on Apr 01, 2020

neverimitate: 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff, is an entertaining, evocative and moving collection of letters sent by the author, from her home in New York, to the staff at an antiquarian bookshop in London. Their correspondence spanned twenty years and resulted in a valued friendship.

There is an essence of the various writers in each letter. The author offsets her impatience with humour. Frank Doel, her main contact at the shop, displays a courteous formality underscored by his obvious wit. The other ‘inmates’ at Charing Cross Road are more curious and open. Even Frank’s wife, their neighbour, and some of the author’s friends eventually become involved.

Each letter is short and concerns the acquisition of books alongside little personal asides. Occasional gifts are exchanged and thanks sent. All parties express an eagerness to one day meet.

It is hard to fathom why such a little book could be quite so captivating, other than the obvious quirks of the writers that are divulged in their writing. The shared love of literature and of the books themselves are appealing to any bibliophile. The historical detail referenced – post war rationing, a coronation, the...

United Kingdom on Feb 27, 2016

Leif Asbjørnsen: I saw the film 84 Charing Cross Road some years ago with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins in the leading roles as the bibliophile American Helene Hanff and the English bookseller Frank Doel. I remember their brilliant acting and their unsentimental relationship when sending each other letters across the Atlantic - the first writing in a direct and American way when ordering her books; the other answering with typical English reserve and politeness. However, in spite of their difference of form it was obvious to me that they nourished a deep sympathy and respect for each other.

It is interesting to see how close the film follows the first part of the book, the second part is about Helene coming to England and how she is treated by friends and admirers when her book is going to be published. This part is not incorporated in the film and I, for my part, read it almost as an afterthought of what I see as the main part; the correspondence between Helene and Frank. Their relationship lasted for twenty years; from 1949, when Helene saw an ad in Saturday Review of Literature saying that Frank's shop was a specialist in out-of-print books, till he died of a ruptured appendix in...

United Kingdom on Sep 04, 2013

Palle E T Jorgensen: Real letters.

I miss old fashioned letters, perhaps especially now that we live in the age of email. There are so few real letters left now, and this little collection here is a gem. I was reminded of some old 'real' letters saved, having by now collected dust, left from my parent's generation, and from a time long gone by.

Occasionally I stumble over collections of published letters in antique bookstores.
I found this by accident in my favorite corner book store. It is by Helene Hanff, and it's thin so it easily escapes your eye. Happy to learn that it has been reprinted by Penguin.
I was in stitches the moment I opened and began reading the first letter, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
With book orders from Amazon now, the occasion for the letters will likely not be repeated. Helene was ordering used books from the book store in London.

The collection covers letters exchanged between ordinary people living their separate and ordinary lives on two Continents; one, Helene, in America, a freelance writer, living alone in a small apartment in New York City, E 95th Street, and in England, the staff in an antique bookstore in London, on 84, Charing...

United States on Apr 23, 2011

Kindle Customer: With fifty years of memory on my brain's hard-drive, I can't actually remember when I first came across this volume. To say this book has left an indelible mark on my heart would be an understatement; it has had a profound effect on my life.

This book is `the perfect storm' for me. I have a couple paperbacks, a copy of the play script, an audio book, and the film. I love the era, the book love (not just reading but being around books, the library, haunting old book shops - talking about books and just being with the books) and also letter writing to friends. I have a couple of pen pals - my favourite is my friend Edel in Ireland (oh, how I long to jump on a plane and surprise her). I love most English things and NYC too (the theatre, museums...). Like Helene, my heart skips a beat as I approach my mailbox and see a package waiting for me. For me this book evokes a time and a place - a simpler way of life.

She was a near-do-well. Her book "Underfoot in Show Business" details her career. She only "just" made enough to get by. She wrote plays that were never produced. She wrote for "live" television, but when the studios learned how to "film" television everyone moved...

United States on Jun 09, 2009