In 1949, aspiring New York playwright Helene Hanff saw an advertisement for an antiquarian bookseller in London that shipped books internationally. A fan of obscure and old books, she reached out to them with a list of books she’s looking for, thus beginning a 20 year correspondence between herself and the principal bookseller at Marks and Co, Frank Doel, based at 84 Charing Cross Road.
What a literary gem. This small book collects selected correspondence between Hanff and Doel, as well as others in their orbits, to paint an utterly charming picture of the post-war world in New York and London as well as bringing to life the wonderful characters writing the letters.
Hanff is such a lively persona, bursting off the page with energy, showcasing a strong personality and keen intellect, while Doel is the almost stereotypical Englishman, polite and stoic to a T (it takes him over 2 years to begin addressing her by her first name).
Rationing in Britain continued well into the ‘50s (you think egg prices are bad today - back then it was 1 egg per person per month!) which appalls Hanff who begins sending over care packages of meat and eggs to Doel, his colleagues and family, which shows what a big heart she had.
But of course a lot of the correspondence also includes much book talk and, despite considering myself well-read, I rarely knew the titles and authors the two discussed. Like John Henry Newman’s Discourses, Walter Savage Landor, Leigh Hunt, and Quiller-Couch, whom Hanff viewed as a sort of mentor. I did catch a few though - Donne, Shaw, Pepys, and Hazlitt, though I’ve not read any of them.
It also shows you how varied the world of readers is. That there’s someone out there who genuinely enjoys reading obscure Bible translations or ancient dialogues over contemporary entertainments is astonishing to me. But Hanff does gradually get over her aversion to fiction and towards the end starts raving about the likes of Laurence Sterne and Kenneth Grahame.
We catch glimpses of Hanff’s life over the years - she gets gigs writing TV shows like Ellery Queen, occasionally has a short story published, and, though she’s deeply an Anglo-phile, circumstances keep getting in the way of her being able to afford a ticket across the pond to visit Frank and co.
Similarly, the painfully-professional Frank reveals his life through the correspondence of his wife Nora, who begins writing to Helene directly, and their children. Rationing rules their lives for a few years, then it ends, and Elizabeth II is crowned. It’s amazing how vividly their lives and world are brought back with simple correspondence.
The ending is quite abrupt and very moving. It was a wonderful idea of Hanff’s to celebrate this beautiful years-long transatlantic friendship with this book. Not least as shops come and go (unfortunately Marks and Co is no more - it is today a McDonald’s) but at least through this book that time will always be preserved.
Too good. 84 Charing Cross Road is a friendship, a time, a number of lovely shared moments, living within these covers brightly and forever - I couldn’t have loved it more. Perfection.
No comments:
Post a Comment