84, Charing Cross Road ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
Genre: Epistolary Memoir
US Publication: 1970
Print: 97 pages
Audio: 1 hour 55 minutes
Confetti Rating: 5 stars
REVIEW:
I often jump straight to the down and dirty of a book, but please allow me to shake things up by presenting the lithe and lovely.
84, Charing Cross Road is an absolutely delightful epistolary memoir made up of letters exchanged between NYC-based author Helene Hanff and an antiquarian bookseller in London.
It was published in 1970 and contains twenty years of correspondence that began in 1949 - a time when London was still dealing with post-war rationing and, to state the obvious, the internet did not exist. If you wanted to find a rare book or first edition of a favorite, you had to hunt for it! Oh, the joy of finally locating a coveted treasure by reaching out by letter to a store across the world rather than just through the click of a mouse.
There are no villains in this book. None at all. It’s just chock full of wonderful, bookish people being wonderful to other bookish people.
84, Charing Cross Road has languished on my To Read shelf since I joined Goodreads back in 2014. Now that I’ve finally gotten to it, the lump in my throat and the smile on my face have moved it straight to the top of my All Time Favorites.
84 stars for this loveliest of lovely reads.
PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:
In 1949 Helene Hanff, a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books, wrote to Marks & Co. Booksellers of 84 Charing Cross Road in search of the rare editions she was unable to find in New York. Her books were dispatched with polite but brisk efficiency. But, seeking further treasures, Helene soon found herself in regular correspondence with bookseller Frank Doel, laying siege to his English reserve with her warmth and wit. And, as letters, books and quips crossed the ocean, a friendship flourished that would endure for twenty years.