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84 Charing Cross Road / The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (1976)

by Helene Hanff

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: 84 Charing Cross Road (1-2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,1193817,795 (4.24)76
This book is the very simple story of the love affair between Miss Helene Hanff of New York and Messrs Marks and Co, sellers of rare and secondhand books, at 84 Charing Cross Road, London'. DAILY TELEGRAPH Told in a series of letters in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD and then in diary form in the second part THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET, this true story has touched the hearts of thousands.… (more)
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» See also 76 mentions

English (36)  Swedish (1)  German (1)  All languages (38)
Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
This was a re read for me. Being my late mother’s favourite book, having snaffled a beautiful newish edition at an op shop, being a snail mail enthusiast and book lover and being on holidays I raced through this. An absolutely charming book. I don’t believe I have read the sequel which I am about to start straight away. ( )
  secondhandrose | Oct 31, 2023 |
One of my favorite books of all time. Whenever I re-read this book I also re-read the sequel, since to me they really do have to be enjoyed together. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Aug 1, 2023 |
Well, I just loved this book. Loved in a way that made me want to hug it when I finished it.

My edition contains both 84 Charing Cross Road and The Dutchess of Bloomsbury Street - I don't know if this is standard or not, but the two feel like they ought to be part I and part II of the same book. 84 Charing Cross Road is by a mile, my favorite; Ms. Hanff is funny and irreverent and she gives poor Mr. Doel such a hard time and he's just such a gentleman.

The second half made me feel like the most classless twit; all those incredible experiences I didn't take the time to have when I was in the UK that I absolutely should have. She makes me want to go back and do it properly. I was hoping the book would end with her moving to London but instead, the story ends exactly the way it should.

I just loved this book.


[PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge: A book that came out the year you were born.] ( )
  murderbydeath | Jan 17, 2022 |
This is not your ordinary love story but it is the kind of romance every bibliophile dreams. An epistolary memoir that spans decades of transatlantic correspondence between writer Helene Hanff and Marks & Co antiquarian bookseller, Frank Dole. Not only does the book-loving feels very validating but to read about someone who cares enough about second hand, leather bound, and first edition books where descriptions and disappointments, whilst surrounded with everyday life, are laced in humour and wit is magnificently sweeping and sweet. But this is not only for the love of books but also for the love of second hand bookshops and its people. Both 84 Charing Cross Road and its sequel The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street pelt with bittersweet conclusions; and they're immensely touching for that.

To have bought this in a second hand bookshop with the bookseller saying that I would definitely love this and I should watch the film after is rather telling. I will never forget the old man's kind eyes as he handed me my change. I think, sometimes, that home is a feeling: the similar feeling I have when I open the door to my room or I get inside a bookshop and the scent of books greet me, or when I slump down the floor surrounded by them during spring cleaning but I feel it most vividly when I hold them in my hands and they take me to some place else to comfort and distance me from the sometimes ugly reality. And to share these with someone who shares the same inclination is unforgettable. ( )
  lethalmauve | Jan 25, 2021 |
When it arrived in the post, I peeked at the first page, as one does, to get a sense of it. Next thing I knew I was halfway through the book. I finished it almost in one sitting; which may well be the best way to read this exquisite gem - as something unexpected, sudden, and all at once. This has American exuberance meeting British reserve and developing, purely by letters, into a most perfect friendship.

Helene Hanff says a few times in her letters to her bookseller that she's not interested in most fiction, or in secondhand accounts. She wants the I-was-there stuff. This little book is exactly that, and it's perfect.
2 vote ChocolateMuse | Dec 3, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (9 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hanff, Heleneprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Skogsberg, BeritTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Gentlemen:
Your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books.
Quotations
The books arrived safely, the Stevenson is so fine ... I'm almost afraid to handle such soft vellum and heavy cream-colored pages. Being used to the dead-white paper and stiff cardboardy covers of American books, I never knew a book could be such a joy to the touch.
[On receiving a 3-volume copy of Pepys' diary in New York] He was previously owned by a slob who never even bothered to cut the pages. I'm wrecking them, it's the thinnest India paper I ever saw. We call it "onion skin" over here and it's a good name for it. But heavier paper would have taken up six or seven volumes so I'm grateful for the India. I only have three bookshelves.
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Disambiguation notice
The UK edition titled 84 Charing Cross Road, ISBN 0860074382 and 1860498507, is actually an omnibus edition of 84 Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. It is therefore correctly combined with this work, and should not be combined with the shorter single work 84 Charing Cross Road.
Folio Society edition titled 84, Charing Cross Road contains both works and belongs here.
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This book is the very simple story of the love affair between Miss Helene Hanff of New York and Messrs Marks and Co, sellers of rare and secondhand books, at 84 Charing Cross Road, London'. DAILY TELEGRAPH Told in a series of letters in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD and then in diary form in the second part THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET, this true story has touched the hearts of thousands.

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