Helene Hanff

Frank Doel

Marks & Co

Correspondence between Helene Hanff and agents of Marks & Co., chiefly Frank Doel.

84, Charing Cross Road

rain/anagha

From where I sit, London’s a lot closer than 17th Street.

Laura

you see how it is, frankie, you're the only soul alive who understands me.

i go through life watching the english language being raped before me face. like miniver cheevy, i was born too late. and like miniver cheevy i cough and call it fate and go on drinking.

If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much…

I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone long gone has called my attention to.

Sarah Sammis

84 Charing Cross Road is a lovely book and I can see why the BBC did the special where they BookCrossed 84 copies of this book. For the last two years I've corresponded with many lovely BookCrossers in the UK (some of whom are booksellers) and Helene's letters with the various people at Marks & Co read like many of my emails back and forth. In one letter she notes that England seems far closer to her than her local bookstore because of her hectic life as a script writer. I often times feel the same way for similar reasons. The only thing I'd like to differently than Helene is to make it across the Atlantic while we're all young enough to meet.

Sonia Grgas

What a gem! Recommended for those who love books, bookstores (the way they used to be in the "good old days"!) and smiling while you read.

allison chen

taryn

Cried at the end? And in under 100 pages, that must be a new record for me

I love things like this, letters exchanging, book topics, and life stories.

It was really heartwarming except for the part that these are, if I am not wrong, the selected letters. I am not saying I needed 20 years worth of notes but it is a bit off-putting when you so obviously miss context to some things. Even some of the plain letters might spark joy in the reader.

High Fidelity

I love things like this, letters exchanging, book topics, and life stories.
It was really heartwarming except for the part that these are, if I am not wrong, the selected letters. I am not saying I needed 20 years worth of notes but it is a bit off-putting when you so obviously miss context to some things. Even some of the plain letters might spark joy in the reader.




Lovely little book. The letters from American read like they were written yesterday.

84 Charing Cross Road / The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Charming. Unexpectedly a potential favourite of the year.

Libby

Krystyna 

This tiny gem of a book is an ode to all book lovers. It is a 20-year correspondence between a freelance writer from New York and a bookseller from England. This book was a pure delight to read. It is humorous, sweet, sad, and so relatable. I found myself longing to visit the bookstore and have my own bookish pen pal. It is definitely a sweet and charming read. If you're a book lover, do yourself a favor and pick this up. I also highly recommend the audiobook, as it is full-cast. I am also going to be watching the movie adaptation very soon. (Note: After I finished this book, I started researching the Marks & Co. Booksellers Bookstore).

i like text over verbal communications & wish for the revival of letters everytime communication becomes exhaustive to me, which is often

Daniel Carril

Cuquilectura. Lo lees, te entretienes un ratín y sigues tu vida como si nada hubiera pasado. Incluso si te apasionan los libros y las librerías.

Vilandra

This is a short book, but delightful. You get so much from so little correspondence. The people we meet really stick with us.

Such an amazing book! A tale told through letters and journal entries which leaves such a warm fuzzy feeling inside. The fact it’s almost purely correspondence makes the book feel very personal and allows you to for relationships with the main players involved.

A really nice, quick read which will leave you longing for more.

Such an amazing book! A tale told through letters and journal entries which leaves such a warm fuzzy feeling inside. The fact it’s almost purely correspondence makes the book feel very personal and allows you to for relationships with the main players involved.

A really nice, quick read which will leave you longing for more.

I really want to adapt this for stage.

Midori Kobayashi

Trish

The most charming, wholesome, heartwarming book about a long distance friendship based entirely on the parties’ shared love of books. 

I read this book in one day with a whole evening to spare. I’d say it’s the perfect companion for a trip to the beach or the park or a short-medium length train/plane journey. But be warned, I did tear up at the end. So if you’re an emotional sop like me, maybe finish the last few pages in private. 

It’s such a sweet, sentimental book. So easy to recommend or gift to anyone with a beating heart and an interest in books.

Jacalyn Boggs

This was a story told through letters between the author and a bookstore. The tale spanned two countries and several decades. It's a quick read, but worth picking up. It is the story how people can never meet in person but affect each other deeply.

Lucia Correa

Review- Audiobook: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, Narrators: Barbara Rosenblat and John Franklyn-Robbins 

I first watched the movie many years ago which starred Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. I found it as a Book on Tape (or cassette) at the library. I'm not sure who the narrators were in that version, but I loved it. It was so long ago, I don't remember what came first, me reading the book or listening to it. I suspect it was the latter, as it is the perfect length for when I drove to visit my sister (about 2 hrs).

Anytime when you can listen or read about readers who love books who talk about books, its always entertaining. Well, it is to me! Otherwise I wouldn't be here on Goodreads or belong to various Facebook book groups. It's especially entertaining when it’s the American writer Helene Hanff who wrote about her loves. Hanff loved to read very old and classic books, especially by British authors. In 1949, She was looking for good copies of books of essays, poems, novels, and even specific bible translations even though she herself is Jewish. What started with her requesting a short list of specific books that she could not find in NYC from Marks and Co. at 84, Charing Cross Road, London which led to 20 years of friendship with Frank Doel (the bookstore manager) and the rest of the store staff. Hanff is a wonderful writer, filled with humor and observations. 

You can watch the film at various streaming channels. Here is a trailer for the movie to whet your appetite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg1o4... I loved the movie and the book either reading it myself or listening to the audiobook.

daisy

Taylor Best

My first 5/5 for the year. My heart hurts.

Nelson Zagalo

Uma pequena delícia, para quem gostar de ler sobre livros, livrarias, livros usados, lojas de livros usados ou ainda para quem gosta da autenticidade conferida pela troca de cartas. O livro apresenta-se como uma coletânea de troca de correspondência entre uma guionista americana, em NY, e um livreiro inglês, em Londres, ao longo de 20 anos, de 1949 a 1968. Helen Hanff escreve pedindo livros difíceis de encontrar nos EUA, e Frank Doel vai dando conta dos afazeres e da vida em Inglaterra, nomeadamente, na fase inicial, sobre as dificuldades sentidas no pós-guerra. 

O sentimento é imensamente britânico, mas é acima de tudo autêntico e profundamente empático, conferindo-lhe uma degustação suave, de grande ternura, tudo criado por meio de meras cartas, e claro o interesse pelos livros, entre duas pessoas que nunca se chegam a encontrar pessoalmente.

Adorável.

“If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much.”

I almost feel bad giving this book a less than adoring review having read people's thoughts on here, however, this book disappointed me a lot. 

I was drawn in by the description of two pen pals developing a friendship from a love for books, one of them living in New York and another running a London book shop. The concept sounded beautiful but reading their letters, I just couldn't see the platonic chemistry that everyone else seemed to find within their interactions. There were moving moments where you'd see Helene's kindness towards the staff of the London book shop but a lot of the time, these moments felt random and out of the blue. It felt like there was no real development to their friendship.

It was interesting as a piece of its time, when letters were the most common tool of communication and the book industry was wildly different. But as a book to be entertained by and loved, I just couldn't see it. 

I don't want to judge too harshly because I'm aware that a lot of people see something in it that I don't. Maybe it was just a case of not feeling drawn to Frank or Helene as people. Regardless I wouldn't dissuade someone from reading this, it's quick and easy and interesting at times and clearly, enough people have found something more than that within it so it's worth picking up.

Jenna

3.5 stars. 84, Charing Cross Road is a delightfully sweet little book of letters between the author, Helene Hanff, a screenwriter living in NYC, and the employees (and even family of employees) of Marks & Co booksellers in London at the title address. Her main correspondent is Frank Doel, and they develop a friendship as Helene orders hard to find books from the shop via mail starting in 1949.

I didn’t realize when I picked this up that it was a nonfiction book of letters until I started reading! Knowing it was nonfiction makes Helene’s acts of kindness towards the shop workers even sweeter. Many times through the years she orders them foods that are hard to find in England due to war, like fresh eggs and meat.

This book made me feel like somewhat of a bad reader, as I didn’t know what the majority of the titles mentioned were. Of course there were a few that everyone has heard of - Pride and Prejudice, The Canterbury Tales - but I’m sure many of the literary references went right over my head. I still enjoyed reading this, though. Helene is witty and charming, and it’s funny and relatable when she laments and gives Doel a hard time about sending the abridged version of a book.

I was sad to learn that the store closed long ago, but more upset that the location now houses part of a McDonalds. Boo hiss.

I would recommend this book to anyone who considers themselves a book person, as book people will easily relate to Hanff’s joy at receiving longed-for books in beautiful editions. If you’re a serious reader of classics, you’d probably get more out of the literary references than me, but you don’t have to, as I was invested in the lives of Helene and the book shop workers even when I didn’t know what the books were. This book is also quite short, and I read it in one sitting.

Sarah Escorsa

What a delightful read! I opened the book to skim through it last night and ended up reading it in one sitting:) I had no idea there had been a film adaptation of the book so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Flavia Louise

Another book that was on my currently reading forever and that I had to force myself to finish.
I really like the letter format of the first part of the book as well as the diary format.
The writing was good.
BUT I did not fully enjoy the book.
Therefor it gets 3.25 stars.

Astha Prakash

What a charming book! It's a collection of letters exchanged between an American author and a British bookstore buyer spread over 20 years. You'll enjoy this if you love books, letter writing, wit and unusual friendships.

84, Charing Cross Road

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