84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

I lived in London from 2004 to 2008 and still have a house there I continue to travel to London regularly from Dubai I call these trips my sanity check they transport me from my dream world back to the real world One of my favourite haunts in London is Charing Cross Road It s been the home to booksellers selling second hand and rare books for decades Long before the American writer Helene Hanff immortalised the street in 84 Charing Cross Road, the area enjoyed a storied association with the city [...]

This charming book is a record of the correspondence between an American author, Helen Hanff, and antiquarian bookshop in London called Marks Co This correspondence begun after Hanff saw an advert for them, where they declared themselves as specialists in acquiring out of print books Her first letter was sent to them in 1949 In it she declared herself to be a badly off writer who had a taste for old books With the letter was a list of books that she had been unable to source in New York, saying [...]

I first read 84 Charing Cross Road and its sequel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury, some years ago In 2015, I had the opportunity to watch the darling, witty film adaptation, and a reread has been on the cards ever since During September, I decided to pick it up once .The beautifully presented Sphere edition which I own contains both of the aforementioned, and from the very beginning, the entirety was so very comforting My initial feeling on dipping back into its pages was one of sheer delight, which [...]

I know it s kind of pathetic that I continue to re read books, but I was at a low point several weeks ago and needed something to help cheer me up.84, Charing Cross Road is a charming book, and as I was reading, my fellow bus and metro passengers may have been wondering why I was smiling so much Actually, my volume has two parts The first is 84, Charing Cross Road and the second is The Duchess of Bloombury Street The former is the correspondence between Helene Hanff a lover of used books and the [...]

I first read 84, Charing Cross Road back in the 70s It is timeless I came across this paperback and couldn t resist reading again It is a beautiful, classic memoir of friendship and bibliophilia, twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, an American writer in New York, and Marks Co antiquarian booksellers in Charing Cross Road, London where Frank Doel became her main correspondent Letters, books and quips crossed the ocean from 1949 until 1969 and a friendship flourished as Marks Co s [...]

An unmitigated delight from cover to cover it says on the cover of my book, and that is exactly what it is This little volume is divided into two parts The first part is the epistolary story it s not a novel it s too short plus it s not fiction a letter exchange between Helene Hanff, book collector living in New York, and the manager of a second hand book shop in London and some of the people in his vicinity lasting over twenty years The second part, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, is the afte [...]

This is one of my favorite books of all time Helene Hanff is so very funny, and I am always moved by the friendship that develops through letters between her and a used book seller I also love her obvious affection for books and reading she is definitely a kindred spirit This is the book I was reading for the first time 20 years ago in the story Kitri wrote about me on her GoodReads page For those not in the know, as I sat on the floor finishing the last few letters, I became the center pole of [...]

Reading this is like sitting in a cafe with a good friend from way back, eating Pavlova cake and letting the afternoon slide by, with cognac and coffee Absolutely charming, witty, elegant and funny little book Quite a bit nostalgic as well Loved everything about it

If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me I owe it so much Even though the bookshop itself is long gone, you can rest assured that I will be walking by where it stood next time I am in London I shall buy a new copy of 84 Charing Cross Road and I shall leave it there for someone to find, a reminder of just how much Helene Hanff, even at a distance, loved the place.You see, I feel like I too owe it quite a lot If it weren t for the bookshop and the wonderful people that kept i [...]

It s always a curious indulgence to read other people s letters, so if those people had come to know of each other through books and had grown to be friends due to a mutual taste in a particular brand of literature, even so if the content of their letters isn t limited to trivia from their mutual lives, and even so if the correspondence spans decades but isn t really obsessive compulsive A breezy read.

Bought it this afternoon on a whim Twenty pages in, and I m in love already.

This edition contains two books that were separately published They are 84, Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street On 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD This is a five star book It contains some letters And the letters were not written by some literary giants In fact, the letters were exchanged between a script writer for TV programs in New York and a person employed in a bookshop in London The correspondence was mostly about the placement of orders for books And the period was between 1949 1969 [...]

84 Charing Cross Road documents twenty year of correspondences between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel Helene was an American writer while Frank the chief buyer of Marks Co, an antiquarian bookseller located at the eponymous address in London, England Starting out as a request for obscure classics, the book follows the blossoming relationship with Helene and the people of Marks Co Followed by The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, a collection of diary entries of Helene s trip to England and the tour of [...]

A perfect book for book collectors, especially those who are charmed by or are old enough to remember what life was like before the internet, in the days when the postman brought something exciting than the latest package from e.g a letter from a friend , when books were properly described by booksellers for their customers far away, and when it was possible for a customer to build a relationship based on trust and confidence with a bookseller far removed from what happens on Marketplace, alas [...]

I must be the only person on the planet who hadn t already read this one, although I do remember hearing at least part of it serialised on the radio at some stage or other On my Easter break, doing stuff that involves hanging around offices waiting to have the forms you filled in at home checked, it looked like the best option to fill in those empty hours That s a bit scathing isn t it Useful as a filler Actually, and this, I m sure, will come as no surprise to anyone, it s gawjus It s snort out [...]

There isn t a thing I could say about this book that hasn t already been said I loved it every single word Full review jennoklikes post 107981

This slim book starts as a collection of letters exchanged between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, but also other staff and family members, between 1949 1969 Helene is an American book lover and Frank Doel works for a London bookshop The correspondence begins as Helene seeks clean, good copies of used books to add to her library that she cannot find near her New York home She also wants to develop a literary link with England Helene is a feisty, amusing correspondent and Frank is a rather reserved [...]

A charming tale which was lovely to read, from days gone by Very nostalgic and sweet story.

This sat on my nightstand for a long time I occasionally took it up and read another chapter There was no urgency in it, but it was always a pleasure I like her turn of phrase I do not know enough about the times and the places and even the books she talks about, but I do love books, and London, and history, and that connects us I should add that this book has two parts I finished the first part, which is an exchange of letters between the author in New York and her London bookseller, a long tim [...]

4 5 miscosaseyra 2

I first saw the film based on this collection of letters and reminiscences, and years later was thrilled to find the book in a 2nd hand shop The letters tell of the author s decades long relationship with the bookshop in the title, as she collected antiquarian books ie greats of English letters In The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street we read how she finally got to London and met some of the people connected with the bookshop, as well as many others In this section she admits that yes, she could have [...]

Da ich auf englisch gelesen habe fallen mir als erstes Adjektive wie charming und delightful ein Dieses Buch ist ein unerwartetes kleines Juwel Meine Ausgabe beinhaltet den Briefwechsel und die Fortsetzung The duchess of Bloomsbury Street Beides zieht einen von den ersten S tzen an in den Bann Es ist wirklich ein Jammer, dass offenbar viele Briefe verloren gegangen sind.Unbedingt lesenswert

A charming gem of a book.I love inscriptions on fly leaves and margins A beautifully written book of letters from one book lover to another.Sadly by the time Helen visited London Frank Doel had died.Witty and charming.I loved the bit describing the dogs in Central Park.Makes me yearn to visit London again.

I d probably give this 3 1 2 stars, but 3 is fine also This was an entertaining, easy, and quick read, based on a series of letters written between a woman in New York and the people who run a book shop in England.

What a BEAUTIFUL book I loved it, took a lot of notes and now I m craving for English literature What a book can do to you Read this book through BookCrossing a RABCK from pinklady60 and passed it on after reading it

NO SPOILERS My edition of this book included two of Helene Hanff s writings both 84 Charing Cross Road and also The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, which did not at all appeal to me as much as the former did I am only reviewing 84 Charing Cross Road, and the stars awarded relate only to the former title.The writing consists of letters between a young woman living in N.Y and an antiquarian book seller in London, of course on Charing Cross Road The letters begin all proper and polite Helene is looki [...]

Buku ini antara yang paling cepat saya habisi tahun ini Beberapa hari tak berpisah dengannya, malah sempat mencatat nota panjang, hati berasa sangat lapang Paling seronok, buku ini turut memuatkan diari Helene Hanff ketika melawat London, iaitu bukunya sebuah lagi The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.Buku ini membuat saya berfikir tentang banyak perkara mengenai tabiat membaca sendiri Patutkah saya meneruskan membaca sebarang fiksyen, atau memburu bukan fiksyen yang jauh lebih penting Patutkah saya [...]

I ve read no other reviews, have never watched the film and this version of the book continues from the original making it 230 pages.The first half is made up of the original letters send to and received mainly from a bookseller, Frank and his co workers, at 84 Charing Cross Road to Helene Hanff in New York City It s a cosy read which develops through time into friendships Helene s romance is with books and with the idea of London, being very different from her own lifestyle She may have descend [...]

If I were in a good mood, I might say I liked this, but bleh I mean, it was okay and I really liked some bits, but I think wrapping my thoughts together ends up in a good ol two stars P What I really liked Because yeah, sure, I really liked some things in here I REMAIN EVER THE OPTIMIST 1 The LETTERS I have a weak spot for letter books.Daddy Long LegsandThe Guernsey Literary Potatoe Peel Pie Societyare two of my all time favourite books EVER and this book sounded SO good to me because of the let [...]

I remember seeing the film version of this book when I was a teenager in the 1980 s and discovered the book recently in Waterstones and experienced a wave of nostalgia The book is charming and follows the correspondence between a New York screen play writer and self confessed antiquarian book lover, Helene Hanff and Mr Frank Doel a partner in a second hand book shop at 84 Charing Cross Road in London called Marks Co We begin in 1949 and follow the realtionship between the two via very funny lett [...]