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The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
Pub 2019-04-01 Nanhai Publishing Company No. 84 Charing Cross Street didn't make me rich. it just let me receive hundreds of letters and calls. which made me well received and resumed me. A long lost confidence and self-esteem. I have been looking forward to coming to London for a lifetime. I got off at 84 Charing Cross and went to the old Max and Cohen books...
137 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1973
355 people are currently reading
7112 people want to read
About the author
Helene Hanff
28 books721 followersHelene Hanff (April 15, 1916–April 9, 1997) was an American writer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she is best known as the author of the book 84 Charing Cross Road, which became the basis for a play, teleplay, and film of the same name.
Her career, which saw her move from writing unproduced plays to helping create some of the earliest television dramas to becoming a kind of professional New Yorker, goes far beyond the charm of that one book. She called her 1961 memoir Underfoot in Show Business, and it chronicled the struggle of an ambitious young playwright to make it in the world of New York theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. She worked in publicists' offices and spent summers on the "straw hat" circuit along the East Coast of the United States, writing plays that were admired by some of Broadway's leading producers but which somehow never saw the light of day.
She wrote and edited scripts for a variety of early television dramas produced out of New York, all the while continuing to try and move from being what she called "one of the 999 out of 1,000 who don't become Noel Coward." When the bulk of television production moved to California, her work slowly dried up, and she turned to writing for magazines and, eventually, to the books that made her reputation.
First published in 1970, the epistolary work 84 Charing Cross Road chronicles her 20 years of correspondence with Frank Doel, the chief buyer for Marks & Co., a London bookshop, on which she depended for the obscure classics and British literature titles around which her passion for self-education revolved. She became intimately involved in the lives of the shop's staff, sending them food parcels during England's post-war shortages and sharing with them details of her life in Manhattan.
Due to financial difficulties and an aversion to travel, she put off visiting her English friends until too late; Doel died in December 1968 from peritonitis from a burst appendix, and the bookshop eventually closed. Hanff did finally visit Charing Cross Road and the empty but still standing shop in the summer of 1971, a trip recorded in her 1973 book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.
In the 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road, Hanff was played by Anne Bancroft, while Anthony Hopkins took the part of Frank Doel. Anne Jackson had earlier played Hanff in a 1975 adaptation of the book for British television. Ellen Burstyn recreated the role on Broadway in 1982 at the Nederlander Theater in New York City.
She later put her obsession with British scholar Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch to use in a book called Q's Legacy. Other books include Apple of My Eye, an idiosyncratic guide to New York City, and A Letter from New York (1992), which reprinted talks she gave on the BBC's Woman's Hour between 1978 and 1985.
Hanff was never shy about her fondness for cigarettes and martinis, but nevertheless lived to be 80, dying of diabetes in 1997 in New York City. The apartment building where she lived at 305 E. 72nd Street has been named "Charing Cross House" in her honor. A bronze plaque next to the front door commemorates her residence and authorship of the book.
Her career, which saw her move from writing unproduced plays to helping create some of the earliest television dramas to becoming a kind of professional New Yorker, goes far beyond the charm of that one book. She called her 1961 memoir Underfoot in Show Business, and it chronicled the struggle of an ambitious young playwright to make it in the world of New York theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. She worked in publicists' offices and spent summers on the "straw hat" circuit along the East Coast of the United States, writing plays that were admired by some of Broadway's leading producers but which somehow never saw the light of day.
She wrote and edited scripts for a variety of early television dramas produced out of New York, all the while continuing to try and move from being what she called "one of the 999 out of 1,000 who don't become Noel Coward." When the bulk of television production moved to California, her work slowly dried up, and she turned to writing for magazines and, eventually, to the books that made her reputation.
First published in 1970, the epistolary work 84 Charing Cross Road chronicles her 20 years of correspondence with Frank Doel, the chief buyer for Marks & Co., a London bookshop, on which she depended for the obscure classics and British literature titles around which her passion for self-education revolved. She became intimately involved in the lives of the shop's staff, sending them food parcels during England's post-war shortages and sharing with them details of her life in Manhattan.
Due to financial difficulties and an aversion to travel, she put off visiting her English friends until too late; Doel died in December 1968 from peritonitis from a burst appendix, and the bookshop eventually closed. Hanff did finally visit Charing Cross Road and the empty but still standing shop in the summer of 1971, a trip recorded in her 1973 book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.
In the 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road, Hanff was played by Anne Bancroft, while Anthony Hopkins took the part of Frank Doel. Anne Jackson had earlier played Hanff in a 1975 adaptation of the book for British television. Ellen Burstyn recreated the role on Broadway in 1982 at the Nederlander Theater in New York City.
She later put her obsession with British scholar Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch to use in a book called Q's Legacy. Other books include Apple of My Eye, an idiosyncratic guide to New York City, and A Letter from New York (1992), which reprinted talks she gave on the BBC's Woman's Hour between 1978 and 1985.
Hanff was never shy about her fondness for cigarettes and martinis, but nevertheless lived to be 80, dying of diabetes in 1997 in New York City. The apartment building where she lived at 305 E. 72nd Street has been named "Charing Cross House" in her honor. A bronze plaque next to the front door commemorates her residence and authorship of the book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,286 reviews
October 24, 2017
A week ago I read 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. I found the concept of writing to the same pen pal over a twenty year period to be a refreshing and charming idea for a book. That the book has endured for nearly fifty years shows that many share my views of this slim memoir. In the comments of the review it was brought to my attention that Hanff had written a follow up to Charing Cross Road. Twenty years after she began correspondence, Hanff finally made it to London. A friend encouraged her to keep a diary. The result was The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.
Following the positive reception of 84 Charing Cross Road, Deutsch Publications in London invited Helene Hanff to promote the book. After twenty years of invitations from the staff of Marks and Company Bookstore and their families, Hanff was finally able to take her trip. Her primary contact and friend Frank Doel had tragically died of a heart attack three years earlier but his widow Nora and her daughter Sheila maintained correspondence with Hanff, inviting her to stay with them. Hanff decided on a quaint hotel in the heart of London, close to Charing Cross Road, and immediately won over the hotel staff and became an instant friend to all the people she met in London. In her five week stay in the city, in addition to seeing Buckingham Palace, The Tower, and Windsor Castle, Hanff became known as the duchess of Bloomsbury Street. Writing down all her experiences in a journal, one can only feel empathy for Hanff who would have loved to make her trip to London while Doel was still alive and Marks and Company still open for business. She reveled in every moment of her vacation and was sad to return to New York, preferring her time in her newly adopted city.
Hanff writes in a witty, humorous style as she invites readers into her life once again. If I found 84 Charing Cross Road to be a humorous, intelligent blend, I found The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street to be even more so as I finally experienced Hanff's encounters with the people she only knew through letters during a twenty year period. The experience of seeing the sites that she only learned about through literature became a humbling one for Hanff. She breathed in the same air once lived by Shakespeare, Donne, Henry, and others, and admitted to not being as well read as some of her acquaintances because she would rather read one book fifty times and memorize it than fifty books one time. Yet, Hanff was a natural for London, reveling in its sites, its food, and her new friends and acquaintances. If it wasn't for the lack of funding, I could see her remaining in the city indefinitely and becoming an ex-patriot. Thus, being in London, seeing 84 Charing Cross Road almost felt anticlimactic because the book store was no longer open, and Hanff knew that after her experience came to an end, that she most likely would never return to London.
Another review for this book encouraged readers of 84 Charing Cross Road to have a copy of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street on hand upon finishing the first book. Readers would be eager to know if Hanff ever made it to London and what her experiences would be in the city of her dreams. For a sequel, Bloomsbury is full of Hanff's now familiar brand of humor and wit that makes it easy to see why she became an instant friend to all who met her in any encounter in her life. Usually a writer for not so successful television show, Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street were Hanff's only forays into books, leaving me upset because I know I do not have any more of her intimate writing to look forward to. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street left me with a happy taste in my mouth, and I am glad I heeded another reviewer's advice to have it on hand upon completing Charing Cross Road.
4 stars
Following the positive reception of 84 Charing Cross Road, Deutsch Publications in London invited Helene Hanff to promote the book. After twenty years of invitations from the staff of Marks and Company Bookstore and their families, Hanff was finally able to take her trip. Her primary contact and friend Frank Doel had tragically died of a heart attack three years earlier but his widow Nora and her daughter Sheila maintained correspondence with Hanff, inviting her to stay with them. Hanff decided on a quaint hotel in the heart of London, close to Charing Cross Road, and immediately won over the hotel staff and became an instant friend to all the people she met in London. In her five week stay in the city, in addition to seeing Buckingham Palace, The Tower, and Windsor Castle, Hanff became known as the duchess of Bloomsbury Street. Writing down all her experiences in a journal, one can only feel empathy for Hanff who would have loved to make her trip to London while Doel was still alive and Marks and Company still open for business. She reveled in every moment of her vacation and was sad to return to New York, preferring her time in her newly adopted city.
Hanff writes in a witty, humorous style as she invites readers into her life once again. If I found 84 Charing Cross Road to be a humorous, intelligent blend, I found The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street to be even more so as I finally experienced Hanff's encounters with the people she only knew through letters during a twenty year period. The experience of seeing the sites that she only learned about through literature became a humbling one for Hanff. She breathed in the same air once lived by Shakespeare, Donne, Henry, and others, and admitted to not being as well read as some of her acquaintances because she would rather read one book fifty times and memorize it than fifty books one time. Yet, Hanff was a natural for London, reveling in its sites, its food, and her new friends and acquaintances. If it wasn't for the lack of funding, I could see her remaining in the city indefinitely and becoming an ex-patriot. Thus, being in London, seeing 84 Charing Cross Road almost felt anticlimactic because the book store was no longer open, and Hanff knew that after her experience came to an end, that she most likely would never return to London.
Another review for this book encouraged readers of 84 Charing Cross Road to have a copy of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street on hand upon finishing the first book. Readers would be eager to know if Hanff ever made it to London and what her experiences would be in the city of her dreams. For a sequel, Bloomsbury is full of Hanff's now familiar brand of humor and wit that makes it easy to see why she became an instant friend to all who met her in any encounter in her life. Usually a writer for not so successful television show, Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street were Hanff's only forays into books, leaving me upset because I know I do not have any more of her intimate writing to look forward to. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street left me with a happy taste in my mouth, and I am glad I heeded another reviewer's advice to have it on hand upon completing Charing Cross Road.
4 stars
April 10, 2023
A delightful follow-up to 84, Charing Cross Road, in which Helene Hanff finally makes her way to London. It felt very much like I had finally made it there myself. I was so caught up in her travels and all the people she met. I loved shopping with her at Harrad’s and dining at the Savoy. Mostly, I loved the genuine way she delighted in all the small things that I know would thrill me as well. That sense of wonder.
I mean I went through a door Shakespeare once went through, and into a pub he knew. We sat at a table against the back wall and I leaned my head back, against a wall Shakespeare's head once touched, and it was indescribable."
I laughed aloud, knowing I would be just as foolish. I’m not a celebrity worshipping kind of person, unless, of course you get me back past 1850.
Speaking of 1850, imagine how surprised I was to find Hanff did not admire Dickens. Her first mention: the porter will show you the room where Dickens wrote Great Expectations. Doesn't seem the time to tell her I found Great Expectations very boring. Yikes, she just panned not only one of my favorite writers but my very favorite book. She managed to mention her disdain for Dickens twice more before the end of the book. It was almost the end of our relationship, but I have a hard and fast rule to tolerate differences of opinion in regard to literature. :)
Her unique sense of humor added an element of joy that would have been missing with a straight narrative. She is a New Yorker, and that theme also appeared. For instance, when people on the street hovered when she was having her portrait painted:
what New Yorkers call the Sidewalk Superintendents. In London you shoo them away by talking to them. In New York talking to them would just get you their life stories.
This is a story about dreams coming true; about waiting much of your life for an event you live vicariously, over and over again. And, it is a story about how sweet realizing that dream can be. No disappointment, just fulfillment at last. I needed that.
I mean I went through a door Shakespeare once went through, and into a pub he knew. We sat at a table against the back wall and I leaned my head back, against a wall Shakespeare's head once touched, and it was indescribable."
I laughed aloud, knowing I would be just as foolish. I’m not a celebrity worshipping kind of person, unless, of course you get me back past 1850.
Speaking of 1850, imagine how surprised I was to find Hanff did not admire Dickens. Her first mention: the porter will show you the room where Dickens wrote Great Expectations. Doesn't seem the time to tell her I found Great Expectations very boring. Yikes, she just panned not only one of my favorite writers but my very favorite book. She managed to mention her disdain for Dickens twice more before the end of the book. It was almost the end of our relationship, but I have a hard and fast rule to tolerate differences of opinion in regard to literature. :)
Her unique sense of humor added an element of joy that would have been missing with a straight narrative. She is a New Yorker, and that theme also appeared. For instance, when people on the street hovered when she was having her portrait painted:
what New Yorkers call the Sidewalk Superintendents. In London you shoo them away by talking to them. In New York talking to them would just get you their life stories.
This is a story about dreams coming true; about waiting much of your life for an event you live vicariously, over and over again. And, it is a story about how sweet realizing that dream can be. No disappointment, just fulfillment at last. I needed that.
July 29, 2023
London is my favourite city in the world! Spending time with Helene Hanff as she discovered it for the first time was priceless. I have been to many of the places she went to and am looking forward to being there again soon.
Helene Hanff has a child like enthusiasm that is very infectious. She had always dreamed of going to London and luckily for her, the sales from her first book 84 Charing Cross Road allowed her to fulfil her dream.
I learned a couple of things about her that surprised me. One is the fact that she did not like bookstores:
“ I despair of ever getting it through anybody’s head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what’s written in the books. I don’t browse in bookshops (gasp), I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it.”
The other was that she did not care for Charles Dickens and she found Great Expectations boring. (Another gasp)
I’ll excuse her for those dislikes. I’d probably save an awful lot of money if I followed her example!
Notwithstanding our differences, I would have loved to meet Helene and share our thoughts on London and books. There was nothing I didn’t love about this book. It was absolutely perfect! I am now in a London state of mind:)
Published: 1973
Helene Hanff has a child like enthusiasm that is very infectious. She had always dreamed of going to London and luckily for her, the sales from her first book 84 Charing Cross Road allowed her to fulfil her dream.
I learned a couple of things about her that surprised me. One is the fact that she did not like bookstores:
“ I despair of ever getting it through anybody’s head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what’s written in the books. I don’t browse in bookshops (gasp), I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it.”
The other was that she did not care for Charles Dickens and she found Great Expectations boring. (Another gasp)
I’ll excuse her for those dislikes. I’d probably save an awful lot of money if I followed her example!
Notwithstanding our differences, I would have loved to meet Helene and share our thoughts on London and books. There was nothing I didn’t love about this book. It was absolutely perfect! I am now in a London state of mind:)
Published: 1973
September 6, 2015
84, Charing Cross Road should have a warning sticker on the cover: "Be sure to have a copy of The Duchess Of Bloomsbury Street on hand BEFORE beginning this book."
If you've read 84, you already know it takes maybe an hour to finish, including bathroom breaks and getting up to brew a cup of tea (and maybe trying to make that recipe for Yorkshire pudding, while you're at it). You also know it's impossible to read 84 and not want to read more of Helene Hanff's writing. Certainly you'll be longing to know what happened to her next. And oh, that bittersweet ending – you'll want a little antidote on hand to chase away any possible blues.
So get yourself a copy of Duchess, and find out what happens when – spoiler alert! – Hanff finally gets to go to London.
She writes another awesome book, is what happens. This one's a diary – okay, it's based on the diary she kept during the course of her visit. (A little editing never hurt anyone.)
This book's wonderful. It's funny and fascinating and touching and engrossing, just like 84 -- but richer in some ways, because Hanff can give us all sorts of little details a structure like 84's doesn't leave room for.
She's brilliantly insightful at times:
I don't know where I was. I could find no name to the street, I'm not even sure it was a street. It was a kind of enclosed courtyard, a cul-de-sac behind Clarence House and St. James's Palace. ...A footstep is loud and you stand without moving, almost without breathing. There is no reek of money here, only the hallowed hush of privilege.
And sometimes she's just her usual wry, witty self:
Somewhere along the way I came upon a mews with a small sign on the entrance gate addressed to the passing world. The sign orders flatly:
COMMIT NO NUISANCE
The more you stare at that, the more territory it covers.
Read this book if you're a New Yorker:
I am so tired of being told what a terrible place New York is to live in by people who don't live there.
...or if you're addicted to reading and love to hear the confessions of another bookaholic:
I'm always so ashamed when I discover how well-read other people are and how ignorant I am in comparison. If you saw the long list of famous books and authors I've never read you wouldn't believe it. My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times.
(I can relate to that far too well.)
Read this book. It's lovely, it's lovable, and it's less than 150 pages. Just be sure to read 84, Charing Cross Road first.
If you've read 84, you already know it takes maybe an hour to finish, including bathroom breaks and getting up to brew a cup of tea (and maybe trying to make that recipe for Yorkshire pudding, while you're at it). You also know it's impossible to read 84 and not want to read more of Helene Hanff's writing. Certainly you'll be longing to know what happened to her next. And oh, that bittersweet ending – you'll want a little antidote on hand to chase away any possible blues.
So get yourself a copy of Duchess, and find out what happens when – spoiler alert! – Hanff finally gets to go to London.
She writes another awesome book, is what happens. This one's a diary – okay, it's based on the diary she kept during the course of her visit. (A little editing never hurt anyone.)
This book's wonderful. It's funny and fascinating and touching and engrossing, just like 84 -- but richer in some ways, because Hanff can give us all sorts of little details a structure like 84's doesn't leave room for.
She's brilliantly insightful at times:
I don't know where I was. I could find no name to the street, I'm not even sure it was a street. It was a kind of enclosed courtyard, a cul-de-sac behind Clarence House and St. James's Palace. ...A footstep is loud and you stand without moving, almost without breathing. There is no reek of money here, only the hallowed hush of privilege.
And sometimes she's just her usual wry, witty self:
Somewhere along the way I came upon a mews with a small sign on the entrance gate addressed to the passing world. The sign orders flatly:
COMMIT NO NUISANCE
The more you stare at that, the more territory it covers.
Read this book if you're a New Yorker:
I am so tired of being told what a terrible place New York is to live in by people who don't live there.
...or if you're addicted to reading and love to hear the confessions of another bookaholic:
I'm always so ashamed when I discover how well-read other people are and how ignorant I am in comparison. If you saw the long list of famous books and authors I've never read you wouldn't believe it. My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times.
(I can relate to that far too well.)
Read this book. It's lovely, it's lovable, and it's less than 150 pages. Just be sure to read 84, Charing Cross Road first.
May 13, 2016
This is not a 5 star-book for all and sundry, but for anglophiles who want to read every book written by a British author and who long to physically visit the places they have haunted in their dreams then this is THE book for you. For me it is a 10-star book because I read it 20 year ago and deeply understood the emotions behind the book. I wondered if I would ever go to 'The England of literature" or if it would be "too late" as someone told Helene. If I went to England would I be disappointed? Helene wasn't.
I did, in fact, go to London and having forgotten all about the details of Helene's trip. I didn't plan the trip at all but followed along with friends since I only decided to go one week before I departed. My friends all had ideas for touring. Since everywhere I visited would be awesome I only had one extra place to add: 84, Charing Cross Road. My last morning in London I made my way there and I can truly say about my trip it was not too late. I was almost the exact age as Helene when she finally went and by some sort of divine providence, I stayed exactly one block from where she stayed right between Russell SQ and Bloomsbury SQ. I didn't know this until I reread her book this week with map of London in hand. My trip and hers were both etched in the plat of my mind. I even got to see The Tower which she missed but she saw The National Portrait Gallery which I missed but will not miss again if given the chance.
Helene was a hard, single, New York smoker with a dry witty edge. I am a Southern girl with nine children but we couldn't be more kindred spirits. Oh, to be in England...again.
I did, in fact, go to London and having forgotten all about the details of Helene's trip. I didn't plan the trip at all but followed along with friends since I only decided to go one week before I departed. My friends all had ideas for touring. Since everywhere I visited would be awesome I only had one extra place to add: 84, Charing Cross Road. My last morning in London I made my way there and I can truly say about my trip it was not too late. I was almost the exact age as Helene when she finally went and by some sort of divine providence, I stayed exactly one block from where she stayed right between Russell SQ and Bloomsbury SQ. I didn't know this until I reread her book this week with map of London in hand. My trip and hers were both etched in the plat of my mind. I even got to see The Tower which she missed but she saw The National Portrait Gallery which I missed but will not miss again if given the chance.
Helene was a hard, single, New York smoker with a dry witty edge. I am a Southern girl with nine children but we couldn't be more kindred spirits. Oh, to be in England...again.
July 18, 2020
This is Helene Hanff’s follow up to 84 Charing Cross Road and it is an account of her first visit to Britain in 1971, three years after Frank Doel’s death. It is in daily diary form. The visit combined some book promotion of 84 Charing Cross Road, meeting Doel’s wife and daughters and a number of other friends and acquaintances. As in the previous book Hanff’s personality and enthusiasm shine through. Her delight in visiting historical sites where some of those she admires first trod is also obvious, although she can be cutting about things that irritate her:
“Nothing infuriates me like those friendly, folksy bank ads in magazines and on TV. Every bank I ever walked into was about as folksy as a cobra.”
And this thought when walking in a park and greeting a dog with the owner close by:
” Please don’t do that!” she said to me sharply. “I’m trying to teach him good manners.”
I thought,” A pity he can’t do the same for you”.
And a very perceptive remark about being taken to lunch at the Hilton:
“You look at the faces in the Hilton dining room and first you want to smack them and then you just feel sorry for them, not a soul in the room looked happy.”
Hanff is great at the one liners although I did miss Frank Doel’s dry and reserved responses. This is a delightful tourist’s account of London and its surrounds told with Hanff’s zest for life.
“Nothing infuriates me like those friendly, folksy bank ads in magazines and on TV. Every bank I ever walked into was about as folksy as a cobra.”
And this thought when walking in a park and greeting a dog with the owner close by:
” Please don’t do that!” she said to me sharply. “I’m trying to teach him good manners.”
I thought,” A pity he can’t do the same for you”.
And a very perceptive remark about being taken to lunch at the Hilton:
“You look at the faces in the Hilton dining room and first you want to smack them and then you just feel sorry for them, not a soul in the room looked happy.”
Hanff is great at the one liners although I did miss Frank Doel’s dry and reserved responses. This is a delightful tourist’s account of London and its surrounds told with Hanff’s zest for life.
March 16, 2022
Every time I try to explain the awesomeness of 84, Charing Cross Road, I end up concluding my speech with "you'll just have to read this for yourself, to understand".
I'm not a particularly emphatic person, when it comes to experiences I haven't personally gone through. But the fact that I found myself unable to sympathize with Ms. Hanff getting to see the Englad she'd dreamed about forever... was unexpected, to say the least. It's not like I don't recall going around London all googly-eyed, and swooning over everyone's amazing British accent. And yet, the author's attitude only served to make me all stressed about her ending up penniless somewhere in a ditch.
See, I have NEVER gone on a trip without making sure to have enough money and THEN some, for any emergency. Meaning I plan for the Armageddon taking place at the precise moment thepresident Queen decides to ask ME to save the world. It's up to the two of us to do something, and she's better at managing.
Seeing Ms. Hanff plan her stay by winging things as long as her money lasted, made me break out in cold sweat. She didn't even buy a return ticket, hoping to make things last indefinitely. Add to that the fact, that she started budgeting around getting invited to free dinners... I think I must've died of shame at least 5 times, in her place.
Yes, I have a LOOOOOT of issues. And I'm also very jealous. Happy?!
Of course, I did often stop to remind myself that all this happened over 40 years ago, where not every second person was an axe-murderer in disguise. And that during these times it was perfectly OK to instruct one's editor to pass through all dinner invitations. Or, erm... was it?
Things looked slightly better, when it came to the tourist sights, but even there Ms. Hanff was a much more cultured specimen than I could ever hope to be. My interest in Oxford lay solely in the awesome architecture, along with a hefty dose of fangirling in Christchurch College's Hall (insert witty Harry Potter movie reference).
What did I care about some guy who had once taught religion in one of those buildings?
Score: 3/5 stars
For all that I've spent this entire review moaning and moping around, objectively speaking there was nothing to dislike here. The narration is brisk and funny, the pacing is alert, all London-aficionados can get a piece or two for reminiscing purposes...
The excitement from the prequel was gone, however. And without that, the book turned into just another memoir. And I prefer my novels to be fiction.
====================
Check out my take on: 84, Charring Cross Road.
I'm not a particularly emphatic person, when it comes to experiences I haven't personally gone through. But the fact that I found myself unable to sympathize with Ms. Hanff getting to see the Englad she'd dreamed about forever... was unexpected, to say the least. It's not like I don't recall going around London all googly-eyed, and swooning over everyone's amazing British accent. And yet, the author's attitude only served to make me all stressed about her ending up penniless somewhere in a ditch.
See, I have NEVER gone on a trip without making sure to have enough money and THEN some, for any emergency. Meaning I plan for the Armageddon taking place at the precise moment the
Seeing Ms. Hanff plan her stay by winging things as long as her money lasted, made me break out in cold sweat. She didn't even buy a return ticket, hoping to make things last indefinitely. Add to that the fact, that she started budgeting around getting invited to free dinners... I think I must've died of shame at least 5 times, in her place.
Yes, I have a LOOOOOT of issues. And I'm also very jealous. Happy?!
Of course, I did often stop to remind myself that all this happened over 40 years ago, where not every second person was an axe-murderer in disguise. And that during these times it was perfectly OK to instruct one's editor to pass through all dinner invitations. Or, erm... was it?
Things looked slightly better, when it came to the tourist sights, but even there Ms. Hanff was a much more cultured specimen than I could ever hope to be. My interest in Oxford lay solely in the awesome architecture, along with a hefty dose of fangirling in Christchurch College's Hall (insert witty Harry Potter movie reference).
What did I care about some guy who had once taught religion in one of those buildings?
Score: 3/5 stars
For all that I've spent this entire review moaning and moping around, objectively speaking there was nothing to dislike here. The narration is brisk and funny, the pacing is alert, all London-aficionados can get a piece or two for reminiscing purposes...
The excitement from the prequel was gone, however. And without that, the book turned into just another memoir. And I prefer my novels to be fiction.
====================
Check out my take on: 84, Charring Cross Road.
March 24, 2020
Having just read and enjoyed, 84, Charing Cross Road, I decided to jump right into her second novel, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. Unfortunately this book wasn't as enjoyable. The book definitely reads like a travelogue of Helene Hanff's trip that she finally makes to England to see the bookstore, Mark's & Company, which because many years had passed, was out of business, and a few people that she acquainted during her over twenty years of correspondence with Frank Doel of Mark's & Company, who had died a few years before Helene's visit. Humorous in parts but the humor was very sporadic making the reading of the book drag on some. And although now a shell and just an empty space, I would have liked her to expound more on what her feelings were when she walked into Mark's & Company. Three stars.
June 26, 2021
"The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street" is an engaging sequel to "84, Charing Cross Road." Helene Hanff had been wanting to visit London for years, and she finally turned her dream into reality. She tells of her experiences in a conversational manner filled with delightful humor. Her London publishers and friends showed her the sights, and treated her to wonderful meals. She especially enjoyed visiting places with connections to some of her favorite authors and historical figures. It left me wishing I was able to accompany her for even a small portion of her trip.
July 28, 2024
"I sat down, suddenly shaken by the fact that these four distinguished people had wanted to meet me. I tell you, life is extraordinary. A few years ago I couldn’t write anything or sell anything, I’d passed the age where you know all the returns are in, I’d had my chance and done my best and failed. And how was I to know the miracle waiting to happen round the corner in late middle age? 84, Charing Cross Road was no best seller, you understand; it didn’t make me rich or famous. It just got me hundreds of letters and phone calls from people I never knew existed; it got me wonderful reviews; it restored a self-confidence and self-esteem I’d lost somewhere along the way, God knows how many years ago. It brought me to England. It changed my life."
"…the three of us and a photographer piled into a cab, and Carmen said to the driver: “Eighty-four Charing Cross Road.” I felt uneasy, knowing I was on my way to that address. I’d bought books from 84 Charing Cross Road for twenty years. I’d made friends there whom I never met. Most of the books I bought from Marks & Co. were probably available in New York. For years, friends had advised me to “try O’Malley’s,” “try Dauber & Pine.” I’d never done it. I’d wanted a link with London and I’d managed it."
I started with high hopes for this “sequel” to her book, 84 Charing Cross Road. Despite her bad luck and hang ups, Hanff was actually going to cross the Atlantic and meet some of those associated with the bookstore, Marks & Co., that she wrote about with such affection.
I was first surprised with how grumpy she was at the start of “The Duchess.” Even if this was to hide her many apprehensions it wasn’t inviting. Then, came a series of notations from her that made me feel that she was not a reliable narrator.
"He took me to a pub called The George, and as he opened the door for me he said in that light, neutral voice: “Shakespeare used to come here.”
“I mean I went through a door Shakespeare once went through, and into a pub he knew. We sat at a table against the back wall and I leaned my head back, against a wall Shakespeare’s head once touched, and it was indescribable. The pub was crowded. People were standing at the bar and all the tables were full. I was suddenly irritated at all those obtuse citizens eating and drinking without any apparent sense of where they were, and I said snappishly: “I could imagine Shakespeare walking in now, if it weren’t for the people.”"
And --- "Ladies all complained they didn’t sleep a wink for the noise, the motorcars go by in the street just-all-NIGHT. Quietest place I ever slept in. They should try tucking up over Second Avenue, where the trucks start rolling at 3 A.M. Lots of Russian and Czech tourist families here, with blasé well-behaved children. Several parties of German tourists, middle-aged to make it worse."
"“Tell me,” said Leo. “You’ve written a beautiful book. Why haven’t we heard from you before? What was wrong with your earlier work? Too good or not good enough.” “Not good enough,” I said. And, unfortunately , I would say that was true of this book as well.
Perhaps others will enjoy her being “judgmental,” but I felt that this over-balanced her enthusiasms and made the whole far less than 84 Charing Cross.
"as George III had been forced to welcome as Ambassador to the Court of St. James old upstart John Adams. You are awed by the contrasts—by the fact of St. James’s and Clarence House resting so serenely in Socialist England."
"Now he makes it by himself but he never can bring himself to add that third jigger of gin, he thinks he’ll look up later and see me sprawled face down on a bar table sodden drunk."
There is humor humor, but much of it is at the expense of someone else.
"Those English fans who invited me to dinner are a charming couple, they live in Kensington in a mews. A mews is an alley built originally for stables and carriage barns, and the fad is to convert the barns and stables into modern homes, everybody wants to live in a converted stable, it’s chic."
"…the three of us and a photographer piled into a cab, and Carmen said to the driver: “Eighty-four Charing Cross Road.” I felt uneasy, knowing I was on my way to that address. I’d bought books from 84 Charing Cross Road for twenty years. I’d made friends there whom I never met. Most of the books I bought from Marks & Co. were probably available in New York. For years, friends had advised me to “try O’Malley’s,” “try Dauber & Pine.” I’d never done it. I’d wanted a link with London and I’d managed it."
I started with high hopes for this “sequel” to her book, 84 Charing Cross Road. Despite her bad luck and hang ups, Hanff was actually going to cross the Atlantic and meet some of those associated with the bookstore, Marks & Co., that she wrote about with such affection.
I was first surprised with how grumpy she was at the start of “The Duchess.” Even if this was to hide her many apprehensions it wasn’t inviting. Then, came a series of notations from her that made me feel that she was not a reliable narrator.
"He took me to a pub called The George, and as he opened the door for me he said in that light, neutral voice: “Shakespeare used to come here.”
“I mean I went through a door Shakespeare once went through, and into a pub he knew. We sat at a table against the back wall and I leaned my head back, against a wall Shakespeare’s head once touched, and it was indescribable. The pub was crowded. People were standing at the bar and all the tables were full. I was suddenly irritated at all those obtuse citizens eating and drinking without any apparent sense of where they were, and I said snappishly: “I could imagine Shakespeare walking in now, if it weren’t for the people.”"
And --- "Ladies all complained they didn’t sleep a wink for the noise, the motorcars go by in the street just-all-NIGHT. Quietest place I ever slept in. They should try tucking up over Second Avenue, where the trucks start rolling at 3 A.M. Lots of Russian and Czech tourist families here, with blasé well-behaved children. Several parties of German tourists, middle-aged to make it worse."
"“Tell me,” said Leo. “You’ve written a beautiful book. Why haven’t we heard from you before? What was wrong with your earlier work? Too good or not good enough.” “Not good enough,” I said. And, unfortunately , I would say that was true of this book as well.
Perhaps others will enjoy her being “judgmental,” but I felt that this over-balanced her enthusiasms and made the whole far less than 84 Charing Cross.
"as George III had been forced to welcome as Ambassador to the Court of St. James old upstart John Adams. You are awed by the contrasts—by the fact of St. James’s and Clarence House resting so serenely in Socialist England."
"Now he makes it by himself but he never can bring himself to add that third jigger of gin, he thinks he’ll look up later and see me sprawled face down on a bar table sodden drunk."
There is humor humor, but much of it is at the expense of someone else.
"Those English fans who invited me to dinner are a charming couple, they live in Kensington in a mews. A mews is an alley built originally for stables and carriage barns, and the fad is to convert the barns and stables into modern homes, everybody wants to live in a converted stable, it’s chic."
July 29, 2020
After 84 , Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff visites London in 1971. She leaves New York City on Thursday, June 17th, 1971. She returns on Monday, July 26th, 1971. The adventure she has in between is chronicled in a diary she kept from day one. The people embrace her as the Duchess at the Kenilworth Hotel on Bloomsbury Street where she stayed. Everyone there made sure she saw all the sites from Regent's Park, outside of the Tower of London, Russell Square, Marks & CO, Oxford, Stratford, CLARIDGE'S, Shakespeare's Pub, Harrords, Castles, Waterlow Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. James Park, statues, stately homes in England, Buckingham Place, and the country side.
Interviews with the Evening Standard, Readers Digest, etc. Her portrait was painted by Ena Marks, a painter and good friend. The adventure of a life time. Meet all her new friends from the Colonel, PB, Nora and Shelly Doyle, Mr.Otto, The Grenfells, the ticket taker, Marc Donnelly, Alvaro, Nikki's Barbara, Jean and Ted Ely, etc... To finally go to London and have all your dreams come true. Join Helene on her trip to London. It is about time....
Quotes:
Marc Connelly picked me up at one. I wore the brown skirt and white blazer, and he said. "Don't you look fine in your little yachting outfit," and saluted.
Mary Scott took me on a walking tour of Knightsbridge and Kensington, we went to Harrods first because I'd never seen it. It's an incredible store, you can buy anything from a diamond necklace to a live tiger, they have a zoo.
So from now on my function is to shoo away what New Yorkers call the Sidewalk Superintendents. In London you shoo them away by talking to them. In New York talking to them would just get you their life stories.
Interviews with the Evening Standard, Readers Digest, etc. Her portrait was painted by Ena Marks, a painter and good friend. The adventure of a life time. Meet all her new friends from the Colonel, PB, Nora and Shelly Doyle, Mr.Otto, The Grenfells, the ticket taker, Marc Donnelly, Alvaro, Nikki's Barbara, Jean and Ted Ely, etc... To finally go to London and have all your dreams come true. Join Helene on her trip to London. It is about time....
Quotes:
Marc Connelly picked me up at one. I wore the brown skirt and white blazer, and he said. "Don't you look fine in your little yachting outfit," and saluted.
Mary Scott took me on a walking tour of Knightsbridge and Kensington, we went to Harrods first because I'd never seen it. It's an incredible store, you can buy anything from a diamond necklace to a live tiger, they have a zoo.
So from now on my function is to shoo away what New Yorkers call the Sidewalk Superintendents. In London you shoo them away by talking to them. In New York talking to them would just get you their life stories.
December 16, 2016
I had huge expectations from this one, especially after enjoying the snarky and wonderful 84 Charring Cross. However, I was disappointed. Where the sights and history of London is definitely interesting, the breezy nature of the writing, which was at times quite irritating and at other times quite insufficient made it lacklustre.
I don't compare books but this is one where I couldn't stop myself from making comparisons. While I accept that the book is a diary and as such diary entries don't really have the coherence of any other form of writing, I still felt that this one did not transfer to me the excitement and sheer joy that Ms. Hanff must have felt on visiting London. Her words seemed forced and her vigour even more so. Her interactions seemed rushed, which could be attributed to the form of writing, but nevertheless there was no development of relationships beyond these mere words. And I missed that a lot, given that 84 CC was one where you could find immense meaning and richness behind those words.
To me London is fascinating, for parts it is quite similar to what Ms. Hanff thought about the city and for others it is something more. Somehow, I couldn't feel myself relating to this experience of the city that I have grown to love through books and movies. Where it should have exhilarated and enhanced my wish to experience the city, it left me feeling unmoved.
I won't say that there aren't any good parts in this book but at the same time, I don't think I can clearly say what those are. All in all, I am quite disappointed with this one, especially as I took nearly a week to complete what should ideally have been read in a few hours. The fact that it almost put me off reading for these past few days made it even worse. It was with sheer determination to finish and not leave it half read that I have managed to do so today.
I need to go find a another book that will erase this memory, at least for now.
I don't compare books but this is one where I couldn't stop myself from making comparisons. While I accept that the book is a diary and as such diary entries don't really have the coherence of any other form of writing, I still felt that this one did not transfer to me the excitement and sheer joy that Ms. Hanff must have felt on visiting London. Her words seemed forced and her vigour even more so. Her interactions seemed rushed, which could be attributed to the form of writing, but nevertheless there was no development of relationships beyond these mere words. And I missed that a lot, given that 84 CC was one where you could find immense meaning and richness behind those words.
To me London is fascinating, for parts it is quite similar to what Ms. Hanff thought about the city and for others it is something more. Somehow, I couldn't feel myself relating to this experience of the city that I have grown to love through books and movies. Where it should have exhilarated and enhanced my wish to experience the city, it left me feeling unmoved.
I won't say that there aren't any good parts in this book but at the same time, I don't think I can clearly say what those are. All in all, I am quite disappointed with this one, especially as I took nearly a week to complete what should ideally have been read in a few hours. The fact that it almost put me off reading for these past few days made it even worse. It was with sheer determination to finish and not leave it half read that I have managed to do so today.
I need to go find a another book that will erase this memory, at least for now.
March 22, 2022
I recently read and loved 84, Charing Cross Road (1970). It's an absolute joy. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (1973), is the sequel.
84, Charing Cross Road consists of letters exchanged between New Yorker Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, his family and some of the other staff at Marks & Co, a second hand bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London. A big part of the pleasure derives from the reserve and formality of Frank and the informality of Helene. Helene's cheek, charm and charisma soon win over her English recipients and long distance friendships ensue.
Sadly Helene Hanff never got to meet Frank who died before she could visit London in 1971 however she did manage to meet Frank's wife, daughter, and numerous other fans, friends and acquaintances.
Although The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street lacks the sponteneity and charm of the first book, it is still an essential read for anyone who enjoyed its predecessor. Helene remains irrepressible and her reaction to visiting the places she has dreamed about for so long is infectious. The continuing culture clash is another part of this book's charm.
It's also fascinating to reflect upon how much London, and Londoners, have changed since Helene's visit in 1971.
3/5
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (1973)
Nancy Mitford meets Nora Ephron in the pages of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanff’s delightful travelogue about her “bucket list” trip to London
When devoted Anglophile Helene Hanff is invited to London for the English publication of 84, Charing Cross Road —in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend—she can hardly believe her luck. Frank is no longer alive, but his widow and daughter, along with enthusiastic British fans from all walks of life, embrace Helene as an honoured guest. Eager hosts, including a famous actress and a retired colonel, sweep her up in a whirlwind of plays and dinners, trips to Harrod’s, and wild jaunts to their favourite corners of the countryside.
A New Yorker who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Helene Hanff delivers an outsider’s funny yet fabulous portrait of idiosyncratic Britain at its best. And whether she is walking across the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to tread, visiting Windsor Castle, or telling a British barman how to make a real American martini, Helene always wears her heart on her sleeve. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is not only a witty account of two different worlds colliding but also a love letter to England and its literary heritage—and a celebration of the written word’s power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.
84, Charing Cross Road consists of letters exchanged between New Yorker Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, his family and some of the other staff at Marks & Co, a second hand bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London. A big part of the pleasure derives from the reserve and formality of Frank and the informality of Helene. Helene's cheek, charm and charisma soon win over her English recipients and long distance friendships ensue.
Sadly Helene Hanff never got to meet Frank who died before she could visit London in 1971 however she did manage to meet Frank's wife, daughter, and numerous other fans, friends and acquaintances.
Although The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street lacks the sponteneity and charm of the first book, it is still an essential read for anyone who enjoyed its predecessor. Helene remains irrepressible and her reaction to visiting the places she has dreamed about for so long is infectious. The continuing culture clash is another part of this book's charm.
It's also fascinating to reflect upon how much London, and Londoners, have changed since Helene's visit in 1971.
3/5
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (1973)
Nancy Mitford meets Nora Ephron in the pages of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanff’s delightful travelogue about her “bucket list” trip to London
When devoted Anglophile Helene Hanff is invited to London for the English publication of 84, Charing Cross Road —in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend—she can hardly believe her luck. Frank is no longer alive, but his widow and daughter, along with enthusiastic British fans from all walks of life, embrace Helene as an honoured guest. Eager hosts, including a famous actress and a retired colonel, sweep her up in a whirlwind of plays and dinners, trips to Harrod’s, and wild jaunts to their favourite corners of the countryside.
A New Yorker who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Helene Hanff delivers an outsider’s funny yet fabulous portrait of idiosyncratic Britain at its best. And whether she is walking across the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to tread, visiting Windsor Castle, or telling a British barman how to make a real American martini, Helene always wears her heart on her sleeve. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is not only a witty account of two different worlds colliding but also a love letter to England and its literary heritage—and a celebration of the written word’s power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.
August 24, 2022
I absolutely adored 84, Charing Cross Road and immediately bought the next two books. I started Duchess of Bloomsbury Street last August, but had to put it down when we went back to school. I picked it up this summer and it was perfect timing. My son was in London and I read it during the month of July which corresponded with the month and days Helene wrote her journal entries.
In this installment, Helene gets the opportunity to go to London and meet several of the people she corresponded with in 84, Charing Cross Road. Her encounter was endearing and heartbreaking. Helene is plucky as ever. We meet several of her admirers and several new book sellers. I loved seeing London through her eyes. I loved how she wanted to and did visit all of the literary landmarks of the UK and not the expected "touristy" ones. Several I recognized (Dickens-How they LOVE Dickens- and Shakespeare) and others I didn't.
Helene's observation of July 4th while in London was interesting. There are so many interesting sub-stories (including a Russian spy!), a variety of correspondence inserted throughout, and many great memorable/witty lines. I've underlined several. Here is one of my favorites:
"I despair of ever getting it through anybody's head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books. I don't want to browse in bookshops, I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it."
What an interesting take on reading and books. Helene has an interesting view on many things, including her "fame" after the success of 84, Charing Cross Road. This series is for booklovers everywhere.
In this installment, Helene gets the opportunity to go to London and meet several of the people she corresponded with in 84, Charing Cross Road. Her encounter was endearing and heartbreaking. Helene is plucky as ever. We meet several of her admirers and several new book sellers. I loved seeing London through her eyes. I loved how she wanted to and did visit all of the literary landmarks of the UK and not the expected "touristy" ones. Several I recognized (Dickens-How they LOVE Dickens- and Shakespeare) and others I didn't.
Helene's observation of July 4th while in London was interesting. There are so many interesting sub-stories (including a Russian spy!), a variety of correspondence inserted throughout, and many great memorable/witty lines. I've underlined several. Here is one of my favorites:
"I despair of ever getting it through anybody's head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books. I don't want to browse in bookshops, I browse in libraries, where you can take a book home and read it, and if you like it you go to a bookshop and buy it."
What an interesting take on reading and books. Helene has an interesting view on many things, including her "fame" after the success of 84, Charing Cross Road. This series is for booklovers everywhere.
September 7, 2016
Basically, this is the follow up of 84, Charing Cross Street. After postponing for many years, Helen Hanff finally manages to travel to London just in time for the publication of her book, named above. This is the journal she kept while visiting London. It was interesting but it did not make me feel anything.
December 18, 2020
Delightful travel journey entries of Helene Hanff as she finally makes it to England, albeit too late to meet Frank face to face but does enjoy visiting his widow and daughter. Wonderful to see London through her eyes.
February 22, 2018
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is Helene Hanff’s companion memoir to 84 Charing Cross, an epistolary book about her twenty-year relationship with the London bookshop, Marks & Co. 84 Charing Cross, published in the US in 1970, is a tribute to Frank Doel, the buyer of rare books for whom she had great affection and who died unexpectedly in October 1969. A London publisher, Andre Deutsch, bought the memoir for publication in England following its instant success in the US and invited her to the UK to drive publicity. I was elated for Helene because I knew how much she had longed to meet the cherished employees of Marks and Co., and to see the England of English Literature.
At the urging of a friend, Helene kept a diary of her UK trip from 17 June to 26 July, 1971. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is a charming documentation of the royal treatment she received from friends, fans and total strangers. It thrilled me to vicariously share the fulfilment of her dream to visit the sites (St Paul’s Cathedral, the Abbey, the Cotswolds…) that through her prodigious reading had made a lasting impression. More than anything, she wanted to see Marks & Co.
This second memoir afforded a more intimate picture of Helene the person rather than Helene the author. She had a touching reverence for history and a magical way with words. Yet, she also came across as anxious, acerbic, cranky at times but always authentically herself. Strangers who loved 84 Charing Cross became her tourist guides and could not get enough of her company. When she was given tickets to Peter Brooks’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she said, “I feel as if God had leaned down from heaven and pasted a star on my forehead.” How not to like her? Although she loved Shakespeare and cheekily consigned his birthplace to the Globe Theatre, she did not dare tell anyone in London that she did not like Dickens because “it is flat heresy not to like Dickens. I mean Dickens is the national household god.” (A heresy indeed. I like Dickens!) Part of the pleasure of reading this memoir is taking a virtual tour of the UK and seeing it through her literary lenses. I learned the story about John Donne and his elopement with Anne More, and loved how Helene figured out the pronunciation of his last name ('John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone' - a prison note from John Donne to his bride). Helene made so many friends and treasured her time in the UK; I did not want her trip to end.
Readers who have enjoyed 84 Charing Cross will feel a need like me to read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street for the joy of seeing good friends meet not on paper and ink but over a cup of tea or a glass of martini.
At the urging of a friend, Helene kept a diary of her UK trip from 17 June to 26 July, 1971. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is a charming documentation of the royal treatment she received from friends, fans and total strangers. It thrilled me to vicariously share the fulfilment of her dream to visit the sites (St Paul’s Cathedral, the Abbey, the Cotswolds…) that through her prodigious reading had made a lasting impression. More than anything, she wanted to see Marks & Co.
This second memoir afforded a more intimate picture of Helene the person rather than Helene the author. She had a touching reverence for history and a magical way with words. Yet, she also came across as anxious, acerbic, cranky at times but always authentically herself. Strangers who loved 84 Charing Cross became her tourist guides and could not get enough of her company. When she was given tickets to Peter Brooks’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she said, “I feel as if God had leaned down from heaven and pasted a star on my forehead.” How not to like her? Although she loved Shakespeare and cheekily consigned his birthplace to the Globe Theatre, she did not dare tell anyone in London that she did not like Dickens because “it is flat heresy not to like Dickens. I mean Dickens is the national household god.” (A heresy indeed. I like Dickens!) Part of the pleasure of reading this memoir is taking a virtual tour of the UK and seeing it through her literary lenses. I learned the story about John Donne and his elopement with Anne More, and loved how Helene figured out the pronunciation of his last name ('John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone' - a prison note from John Donne to his bride). Helene made so many friends and treasured her time in the UK; I did not want her trip to end.
Readers who have enjoyed 84 Charing Cross will feel a need like me to read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street for the joy of seeing good friends meet not on paper and ink but over a cup of tea or a glass of martini.
November 1, 2025
Helene Hanff, self-described Anglophile from New York City, has finally made it to her dream vacation – to visit London, England. This is her sequel to her ever-popular memoir 84, Charing Cross Road. This was a lot of fun to see London through her eyes as we read her experiences as she records them in her diary. She stays from June to July 1971, and she gives her readers a front row seat to all she sees and does while she is there. She is humorous and vivacious. So many people treat her like royalty and that is the one thing about Helene that amuses me. She is a financially stretched obscure writer, yet, she has quite a following of people who want to wine and dine her and take her anywhere she desires. She truly does relish every moment of her trip.
A fun read and highly recommended if you’ve read the first memoir.
A fun read and highly recommended if you’ve read the first memoir.
August 1, 2019
In a follow-up to her hugely popular 84, Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff takes us to London. The book is written as diary/journal entries on her first (and last) trip to the city she had dreamed of visiting. Alas, her favorite bookstore, which she immortalized in her earlier book, was no more, but the success of that first book resulted in instant friends.
I loved how enthusiastic she was about seeing the literary landmarks she had so long dreamed about. I loved her reactions to differences and how she managed to “go with the flow” - particularly loved her exchange with the front desk when she wanted her dress pressed and her first experience ordering a “martini” (Hubby and I shared quite a laugh over that episode). Just makes me wish I had known Hanff in person and had the chance to travel with her … no matter where. I think we would have found something to captivate and enthrall us.
Definitely read 84 CCR first, but you’ll want to read this one as well … especially if you’re planning a trip to London.
I loved how enthusiastic she was about seeing the literary landmarks she had so long dreamed about. I loved her reactions to differences and how she managed to “go with the flow” - particularly loved her exchange with the front desk when she wanted her dress pressed and her first experience ordering a “martini” (Hubby and I shared quite a laugh over that episode). Just makes me wish I had known Hanff in person and had the chance to travel with her … no matter where. I think we would have found something to captivate and enthrall us.
Definitely read 84 CCR first, but you’ll want to read this one as well … especially if you’re planning a trip to London.
February 28, 2015
3.5 stars. A different animal to 84 Charing Cross Road, despite it being written in similar epistolary style (this book is composed of diary entries as opposed to its predecessor's letter format). An enjoyable read, though I feel it has less charm and somehow less literary focus (more 'hero worship' than 'word worship'). Worth reading if you are curious about the 'after' of 84, Charing Cross Road.
December 9, 2016
Loved the travelogue. If I can go to London I know now what I would be doing. This one is not as beautiful as 84, Charing Cross. But still a beautiful travelogue full of kind strangers.
December 4, 2016
Our revels now are ended.
These our actors
. . . were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air . . .
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces. The solemn temples . . . dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on. . . .
thus ends Ms.Hanff her travellogue of visiting London and meeting the friends she made at the now closed old bookshop, 84,Charing Cross Road.
I was in a fugue this lazy Sunday ...travelling with Helene and enjoying, nay feasting upon the sights and pleasures that London, still a quaint backward regal city full of the spirits of dead writers, poets, aristocrats and royals. I walked through the alleys, gaped at the chapels and museums, made many friends, concreted my friendship with older friends, and had a ball...all in all.
The end of the book brought a surreal feeling of being transposed against my wishes from the beautiful trance I was in.
Surely a book to be read again and relished
P.S - to be honest, I didn't like it's predecessor 84, Charing Cross Road much. And I have resolved to read it again, slowly and steadily researching the literary facts ...as a teeny portion of my mind whispers that it was 'my kind' of book.
Thanks to all my buddies who urged me to try this one.
These our actors
. . . were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air . . .
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces. The solemn temples . . . dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on. . . .
thus ends Ms.Hanff her travellogue of visiting London and meeting the friends she made at the now closed old bookshop, 84,Charing Cross Road.
I was in a fugue this lazy Sunday ...travelling with Helene and enjoying, nay feasting upon the sights and pleasures that London, still a quaint backward regal city full of the spirits of dead writers, poets, aristocrats and royals. I walked through the alleys, gaped at the chapels and museums, made many friends, concreted my friendship with older friends, and had a ball...all in all.
The end of the book brought a surreal feeling of being transposed against my wishes from the beautiful trance I was in.
Surely a book to be read again and relished
P.S - to be honest, I didn't like it's predecessor 84, Charing Cross Road much. And I have resolved to read it again, slowly and steadily researching the literary facts ...as a teeny portion of my mind whispers that it was 'my kind' of book.
Thanks to all my buddies who urged me to try this one.
May 11, 2022
I read this in a combined edition with 84, Charing Cross Road (started it about 5 minutes after finishing the latter unexpectedly sobbing). I absolutely love the way Hanff writes and she stirred up in me many beloved memories of travelling in England which I had temporarily forgotten.
Besides being laugh out loud funny, I think the thing she communicates best is the way we can form a kind of relationship with long dead people and remote foreign places through great literature, and how deeply moving travel can become because of those relationships. I have traveled in the footsteps of some of my favourite dead people (notably, Margaret Godolphin, Llewelyn the Last, and George Handel). If you have ever done this, or just longed to do it, read this book. But first, read 84, Charing Cross Road.
Besides being laugh out loud funny, I think the thing she communicates best is the way we can form a kind of relationship with long dead people and remote foreign places through great literature, and how deeply moving travel can become because of those relationships. I have traveled in the footsteps of some of my favourite dead people (notably, Margaret Godolphin, Llewelyn the Last, and George Handel). If you have ever done this, or just longed to do it, read this book. But first, read 84, Charing Cross Road.
January 23, 2022
Click here to hear my thoughts on Helene Hanff, this book, and all her other books over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
September 29, 2011
This is the chronicle of Helene Hanff's long delayed visit to London in the summer of 1971, following on from the publication of her well-known book 84, Charing Cross Road.
While it lacks the unselfconscious charm of 84 Charing Cross Road, this memoir is still full of exuberance and wit. For anyone who has at last travelled to a long dreamed-of country or city, the book brings to mind all of the anticipation, wonder and excitement of such an adventure.
As a traveller on her first visit to London, Hanff differs from many others who have been on a similar journey. Having written 84 Charing Cross Road, she found herself to be a celebrity with a particular connection to London, and her account of her time in the city is coloured by that experience.
Highly recommended to readers who love 84 Charing Cross Road, to those who love London and to anyone who has ever embarked on a pilgrimage inspired by books and reading.
While it lacks the unselfconscious charm of 84 Charing Cross Road, this memoir is still full of exuberance and wit. For anyone who has at last travelled to a long dreamed-of country or city, the book brings to mind all of the anticipation, wonder and excitement of such an adventure.
As a traveller on her first visit to London, Hanff differs from many others who have been on a similar journey. Having written 84 Charing Cross Road, she found herself to be a celebrity with a particular connection to London, and her account of her time in the city is coloured by that experience.
Highly recommended to readers who love 84 Charing Cross Road, to those who love London and to anyone who has ever embarked on a pilgrimage inspired by books and reading.
October 2, 2025
This book takes place for roughly six weeks while Helene Hanff finally gets over to London. Her previous book just published and the publishers want to do some publicity with her. Shortly before she left, a slight delay, as she had an emergency operation. This does add complications but she handles it well.
This book is her journal of the trip, starting with the airplane ride.
Since this is the 1970s things are different than today, such as booked two hotel rooms in case one didn't hold the reservation. Or at least that's not how I've been doing things. And as I understand it, I would be liable to pay for both if I cancel one at the last minute, or just don't show up. Anyway, Hanff is very trusting with people. She accepts all sort of invitations, many by friends of friends, but also accepts invitations by fans to go to lunch or something. She is economizing and the more she takes these lunches and dinners the longer she can stay in London.
It's a short book, entertaining but I do prefer her previous book better.
This book is her journal of the trip, starting with the airplane ride.
Since this is the 1970s things are different than today, such as booked two hotel rooms in case one didn't hold the reservation. Or at least that's not how I've been doing things. And as I understand it, I would be liable to pay for both if I cancel one at the last minute, or just don't show up. Anyway, Hanff is very trusting with people. She accepts all sort of invitations, many by friends of friends, but also accepts invitations by fans to go to lunch or something. She is economizing and the more she takes these lunches and dinners the longer she can stay in London.
It's a short book, entertaining but I do prefer her previous book better.
February 22, 2015
Helene Hanff finally made it to London in June of 1971. By then the antiquarian bookshop of Marks & Co. at 84 Charing Cross Road was no longer in business; Frank Doel, the manager, had died over two years before. Ironically, she was financially able to fly to London because of the success of her book which contained the correspondence between herself, Doel and others from the bookshop over a twenty year period as they formed a close friendship. The book had been published the year before.
This is the memoir of her experiences exploring London and seeing all the places she had only been able to dream of for so long, making dear friends and meeting admirers along the way. Her story is heart-warming and comical and if you've been to London, it takes you back to some of the places you've most likely visited. She never did make it to the Tower of London though on this trip--the lines were always too long. She did discover that "history is alive and well and living in London."
"As Shaw once observed, we are two countries divided by a common language." My favorite passage contains her observations of some of the language differences she encountered: "Nobody over here says 'six-thirty' or 'seven-thirty,' they say 'hoppussix' and hoppusseven.' And 'in' at home is 'trendy' here and 'give it up' is 'pack it in' and 'never mind!' is 'not to worry!' And when they pronounce it the same they spell it differently. A curb's a kerb, a check's a cheque, a racket's a racquet--and just to confuse you further, jail is spelled 'gaol' and pronounced 'jail.' And a newsstand's a kiosk, a subway's the tube, a cigar store's a tobacconist's, a drug store's a a chemist, a bus is a coach, a truck is a lorry, buying on time is hire purchase, cash and carry is cash and wrap."
This is an enjoyable story of a one woman's dream realized but also in a way a reminder to pursue your dreams if at all possible before it is too late. How much more splendid it would have been to have met the employees of Marks & Co in person.
This is the memoir of her experiences exploring London and seeing all the places she had only been able to dream of for so long, making dear friends and meeting admirers along the way. Her story is heart-warming and comical and if you've been to London, it takes you back to some of the places you've most likely visited. She never did make it to the Tower of London though on this trip--the lines were always too long. She did discover that "history is alive and well and living in London."
"As Shaw once observed, we are two countries divided by a common language." My favorite passage contains her observations of some of the language differences she encountered: "Nobody over here says 'six-thirty' or 'seven-thirty,' they say 'hoppussix' and hoppusseven.' And 'in' at home is 'trendy' here and 'give it up' is 'pack it in' and 'never mind!' is 'not to worry!' And when they pronounce it the same they spell it differently. A curb's a kerb, a check's a cheque, a racket's a racquet--and just to confuse you further, jail is spelled 'gaol' and pronounced 'jail.' And a newsstand's a kiosk, a subway's the tube, a cigar store's a tobacconist's, a drug store's a a chemist, a bus is a coach, a truck is a lorry, buying on time is hire purchase, cash and carry is cash and wrap."
This is an enjoyable story of a one woman's dream realized but also in a way a reminder to pursue your dreams if at all possible before it is too late. How much more splendid it would have been to have met the employees of Marks & Co in person.
August 6, 2016
Had to stretch this out over several days - just didn't want to say goodbye to Helene Hanff and her witty, sardonic voice again. It's a bit different from 84, but still full of delight. A moving testament to how wonderful things - sometimes, lifelong dreams - can still happen to you late in life.
March 27, 2025
This was such a quick and lovely little read.
As a huge fan of Helene Hanff's 1970 book 84, Charing Cross Road (Helene's epistolary memoir about a decades long pen pal relationship with Frank Doel of Marks & Co. booksellers in London, England), I found this book to be the perfect short and sweet follow-up for it.
The Dutchess of Bloomsbury Street is a transatlantic travelogue about Helene's trip to London in 1971 to meet with publishers, the daughter and wife of Frank Doel, and many other delightful fans of her work.
It was fun remembering a time before cellphones, email, and the internet, when people had to write letters or call on landlines to leave messages. It truly was a different time.
I really adore Helene's wit and dry sense of humour. This was a lovely glimpse into her European adventure.
As a huge fan of Helene Hanff's 1970 book 84, Charing Cross Road (Helene's epistolary memoir about a decades long pen pal relationship with Frank Doel of Marks & Co. booksellers in London, England), I found this book to be the perfect short and sweet follow-up for it.
The Dutchess of Bloomsbury Street is a transatlantic travelogue about Helene's trip to London in 1971 to meet with publishers, the daughter and wife of Frank Doel, and many other delightful fans of her work.
It was fun remembering a time before cellphones, email, and the internet, when people had to write letters or call on landlines to leave messages. It truly was a different time.
I really adore Helene's wit and dry sense of humour. This was a lovely glimpse into her European adventure.
September 2, 2012
This is a sequel to the book "84 Charing Cross Road," which is a favorite of mine. In "Duchess," Helene finally travels to London and she gets a small taste of fame since her "84" book has been published. She takes many tours around the city and has outings to the countryside, and the book is a diary of her travels. If you liked "84 Charing Cross Road," you will probably enjoy this book.
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