Letter from New York (1992)

by Helene Hanff

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For six years, Helene Hanff held captive audiences all over the world with her monthly broadcasts on the BBC's Woman's Hour. In five-minute vignettes, she managed to convey the essential New York City: life in a high rise apartment building (the last small town in America); annals of Chester-the-Sheepdog, Duke, the German shepherd, and their friends; the tree-lighting, magic and music of Christmas in New York. We meet Arlene, Hanff's high-flying friend who's social life (and wardrobe) put Hanff's one-and-one-half room apartment and simple writer's life in perspective. We walk through Nina's garden, 16 stories up and witness famous New York rites of passage from the hysteria of St. Patrick's Day to Shakespeare's Garden and the neighbors who saved it, to block parties, with their sizzling Italian sausages and shish kebab and flossy plates of pate and brie, all told in Hanff's inimitable style. We join Hanff as she flies to London to realize a lifetime dream at the Ambassador Theatre: opening night for the play, 84, Charing Cross Road. And we witness the elegant Arlene as she meets and falls in love with a New York City cop.… (more)

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kaggsy | Jul 24, 2015 |

I love all the Helene Hanff books I have read so far. The stories in this book were originally written for the radio, but later collected in book form. These are the "I was there" kind of stories that Helene Hanff herself enjoyed so much, about all the things you can do in Manhattan and the ups and downs of living in a small studio flat in a large block of flats ("the last small town in America). After reading this, I was overcome with a need to go to New York again... I was very pleased to discover that the building she lived in all those years has been renamed "Charing Cross House" in her honour. If only there had been more stories! (

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Hobbitlass | Jan 22, 2015 |

As a result of the popularity of her "84, Charing Cross Road" Hanff was invited by the BBC to send them a monthly radio talk about New York and her life in it. The series, initially intended to last six months, went on for six years. A publishing friend later rousted out the original scripts and asked if she could make them into a book. The result is wildly successful in conveying the sights, sounds and smells of the city where Hanff lived and died, as they were thirty years ago. (

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gibbon | Apr 27, 2010 |

I go back and enjoy these tiny fragments of New York life every now and then, when country life gets too slow and too dull. Normally this works the other way around (when the city dweller longs for clean air and birdsong), but some times I want petrol fumes and the sound of sirens, and Helene Hanff provides them with gentle humour and an affection that warms. (She would have probably felt the same way about the countryside too.) Each entry deals with a small events or detail about Manhatten living - recorded in the late 1970's for the BBC's 'Womans' Hour', and it is just what the countrywoman needs when the peace gets too peaceful!

SallyMatthews | Aug 14, 2009 |

Sheer bliss. This book is comprised of a selection of Hanff's scripts for her monthly 'Woman's Hour' contribution. The insights into Hanff's daily life in New York, particularly her relationships with her neighbours, are delightful. I wish I could hear the original 'Woman's Hour' recordings. (

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riverwillow | Oct 7, 2008 |

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After the success of 84, Charing Cross Road, the BBC asked Helene Hanff to write segments about her life in New York for BBC’s British audience. This book collects many of the transcripts from those segments. They are delightful, charming, and warm. It made me really see New York. It had more of the delightful, light tone of 84, Charing Cross Road. I would have loved to listen to them on the radio. A couple of them, particularly the ones about her relations with a neighbor’s dog, brought me to tears. I would definitely recommend this little book.

added by John_Vaughan | editBlue Stocking Review (Jun 1, 2013)

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Canonical title

Letter from New York

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1992

People/Characters

Important places

Manhattan, New York, New York, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To: Chris Longley, who hired me; Sue MacGregor, who "presented" me; Ursula Kenny, who "produced" me in New York; And all the other lovely people at BBC's Woman's Hour. With much gratitude and affection.

First words

In the summer of 1978, I had dinner in London with my friend Chris Longley who had just been made a producer on the popular BBC radio magazine, the "Woman's Hour". (Author's note)

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▾Book descriptions

For six years, Helene Hanff held captive audiences all over the world with her monthly broadcasts on the BBC's Woman's Hour. In five-minute vignettes, she managed to convey the essential New York City: life in a high rise apartment building (the last small town in America); annals of Chester-the-Sheepdog, Duke, the German shepherd, and their friends; the tree-lighting, magic and music of Christmas in New York. We meet Arlene, Hanff's high-flying friend who's social life (and wardrobe) put Hanff's one-and-one-half room apartment and simple writer's life in perspective. We walk through Nina's garden, 16 stories up and witness famous New York rites of passage from the hysteria of St. Patrick's Day to Shakespeare's Garden and the neighbors who saved it, to block parties, with their sizzling Italian sausages and shish kebab and flossy plates of pate and brie, all told in Hanff's inimitable style. We join Hanff as she flies to London to realize a lifetime dream at the Ambassador Theatre: opening night for the play, 84, Charing Cross Road. And we witness the elegant Arlene as she meets and falls in love with a New York City cop.

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