DATo
Active Member
I felt I just had to share this though I'm sure that at least some of you have already read the book or seen the movie.
I'm off work this week and had some stuff to drop off at the library yesterday. While I was there I checked the DVD section and to my surprise found the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. This was a coincidence because I had just read the book a few months ago. As a book lover and frequenter of second-hand bookstores this story resonated with me profoundly.
The book is a true story comprised entirely of a series of letters to and from a bookstore which was located at 84 Charing Cross Rd. in London, England by an American woman shortly after World War II. Now one would think that it would be impossible to write a "story" comprised ONLY of letters but trust me, it works.
The woman is Helene Hanff who was an unknown and underpaid script reader who lived alone in a small and unglamorous apartment in New York (her bookshelves were fruit crates), who had a penchant for old and hard to find books. Her correspondence was usually handled by the store's manager, Frank Dole, and continued for over 20 years. When Hanff discovered that food was being rationed in England (remember this was shortly after the war) she began sending parcels of hard to get items through a firm in Denmark. The contents of the parcels which included canned meats and fresh eggs were a godsend in light of the strict rationing at the time and Hanff soon became endeared to the workers of the store though she remained a bit ambiguous and phantom-like owing to her reluctance to share a picture of herself.
For 20 years her correspondence led to many less than business-like associations with the members of the store as well as their families and friends though an ocean divided them. Her letters were interjected with tongue-in-cheek criticisms of Dole for being too slow in responding to her requests though the Brits, including the workers who slyly, and without Dole's knowledge were slipping their own notes in the responses, realized that her cut downs were really veiled forms of endearing familiarity. Dole always responded in a strictly serious tone though he shared the humor of her remarks with the other workers at the store. Example; His salutation, "Dear Madam" in his first correspondence with her is responded to in a "P.S." from Hanff with, "I hope 'Madam' doesn't mean there what it does here!"
This book is not just about buying a selling books, but rather the epic documentation of friendships forged over a vast expanse of space and time.
If you love old bookstores you (((must))) read this book.
And if you live in London .....
"If you pass by 84 Charring Cross Road, kiss it for me. I owe it so much." - Helene Hanff
(From a letter to her friend, Kathleen, who was about to visit England.)
-----------------------------------------------------
October 15, 1950
"WELL !!! All I have to say to YOU, Frank Dole, is we live in depraved, destructive and degenerate times when a bookshop - A BOOKSHOP !!! - starts tearing up beautiful old books to use as wrapping paper. I said to John Henry when he stepped out of it: 'Would you believe that Your Eminence ?' and he said he wouldn't. You tore that book in the middle of a major battle and I don't even know which war it was. I want the Q Anthology. I'm not sure how much it was, I lost your last letter. I think it was about two bucks. I'll enclose two singles, if I owe more let me know. Why don't you wrap it in pages LCXII and LCXIII so I can at least find out who won the battle and what war it was." - H.H.
Frank responds to say that she is not to worry (actual text omitted here for brevity). The wrapping pages were from a damaged and worthless book that no one would give two shillings for. Later in the book she sends a request for a copy of Pepy's Diary. When it arrived she shot off the following missive.
(Punctuation and capitalization hers)
Oct. 15, 1951 (exactly one year later)
"WHAT KIND OF A PEPY'S DIARY DO YOU CALL THIS ? this is not pepy's diary, this is some busybody editor's miserable collection of EXCERPTS from pepy's diary may he rot. I could just spit. where is jan.12 1668 where his wife chased him out of bed and round the bedroom with a hot poker? where is sir w. pen's son that was giving everybody so much trouble with his Quaker notions? ONE mention does he get in this whole pseudo-book, and me from philadelphia. i enclose two limp singles, i will make do with this THING till you find me a real Pepy's, THEN, i will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT !
P.S. Fresh eggs or powdered for Xmas? I know the powdered last longer but 'fresh farm eggs flown in from Denmark' have got to taste better, you want to take a vote on it?" H.H.
Excellent book! It will make you laugh, cry and have an uncontrollable urge to make a pilgrimage to 84 Charing Cross Road, London. - I highly, HIGHLY recommend it.
I'm off work this week and had some stuff to drop off at the library yesterday. While I was there I checked the DVD section and to my surprise found the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. This was a coincidence because I had just read the book a few months ago. As a book lover and frequenter of second-hand bookstores this story resonated with me profoundly.
The book is a true story comprised entirely of a series of letters to and from a bookstore which was located at 84 Charing Cross Rd. in London, England by an American woman shortly after World War II. Now one would think that it would be impossible to write a "story" comprised ONLY of letters but trust me, it works.
The woman is Helene Hanff who was an unknown and underpaid script reader who lived alone in a small and unglamorous apartment in New York (her bookshelves were fruit crates), who had a penchant for old and hard to find books. Her correspondence was usually handled by the store's manager, Frank Dole, and continued for over 20 years. When Hanff discovered that food was being rationed in England (remember this was shortly after the war) she began sending parcels of hard to get items through a firm in Denmark. The contents of the parcels which included canned meats and fresh eggs were a godsend in light of the strict rationing at the time and Hanff soon became endeared to the workers of the store though she remained a bit ambiguous and phantom-like owing to her reluctance to share a picture of herself.
For 20 years her correspondence led to many less than business-like associations with the members of the store as well as their families and friends though an ocean divided them. Her letters were interjected with tongue-in-cheek criticisms of Dole for being too slow in responding to her requests though the Brits, including the workers who slyly, and without Dole's knowledge were slipping their own notes in the responses, realized that her cut downs were really veiled forms of endearing familiarity. Dole always responded in a strictly serious tone though he shared the humor of her remarks with the other workers at the store. Example; His salutation, "Dear Madam" in his first correspondence with her is responded to in a "P.S." from Hanff with, "I hope 'Madam' doesn't mean there what it does here!"
This book is not just about buying a selling books, but rather the epic documentation of friendships forged over a vast expanse of space and time.
If you love old bookstores you (((must))) read this book.
And if you live in London .....
"If you pass by 84 Charring Cross Road, kiss it for me. I owe it so much." - Helene Hanff
(From a letter to her friend, Kathleen, who was about to visit England.)
-----------------------------------------------------
October 15, 1950
"WELL !!! All I have to say to YOU, Frank Dole, is we live in depraved, destructive and degenerate times when a bookshop - A BOOKSHOP !!! - starts tearing up beautiful old books to use as wrapping paper. I said to John Henry when he stepped out of it: 'Would you believe that Your Eminence ?' and he said he wouldn't. You tore that book in the middle of a major battle and I don't even know which war it was. I want the Q Anthology. I'm not sure how much it was, I lost your last letter. I think it was about two bucks. I'll enclose two singles, if I owe more let me know. Why don't you wrap it in pages LCXII and LCXIII so I can at least find out who won the battle and what war it was." - H.H.
Frank responds to say that she is not to worry (actual text omitted here for brevity). The wrapping pages were from a damaged and worthless book that no one would give two shillings for. Later in the book she sends a request for a copy of Pepy's Diary. When it arrived she shot off the following missive.
(Punctuation and capitalization hers)
Oct. 15, 1951 (exactly one year later)
"WHAT KIND OF A PEPY'S DIARY DO YOU CALL THIS ? this is not pepy's diary, this is some busybody editor's miserable collection of EXCERPTS from pepy's diary may he rot. I could just spit. where is jan.12 1668 where his wife chased him out of bed and round the bedroom with a hot poker? where is sir w. pen's son that was giving everybody so much trouble with his Quaker notions? ONE mention does he get in this whole pseudo-book, and me from philadelphia. i enclose two limp singles, i will make do with this THING till you find me a real Pepy's, THEN, i will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT !
P.S. Fresh eggs or powdered for Xmas? I know the powdered last longer but 'fresh farm eggs flown in from Denmark' have got to taste better, you want to take a vote on it?" H.H.
Excellent book! It will make you laugh, cry and have an uncontrollable urge to make a pilgrimage to 84 Charing Cross Road, London. - I highly, HIGHLY recommend it.
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