Book Review: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

84, Charing Cross Road

Author:  Helene Hanff

Publisher:  Penguin (1970)

97 pages

Genre:  Non-fiction, Memoir

84, Charing Cross Road is a book written in letters that were sent between Helene Hanff and Marks & Co., an antiquarian bookseller in London.  Miss Hanff has an "antiquarian taste" in books and has difficulty finding the books she wants in New York at a reasonable price. She sees an ad for Marks & Co. in the Saturday Review of Literature and decides to write and ask if they could supply her with any of the books on her list.  

She receives a letter in return letting her know that some of the books on her list are on their way to her.  The letter is signed FPD.  So begins a relationship between Miss Hanff and Marks & Co., Booksellers.  Most of the correspondence is written by FPD, Frank Doel, on behalf of Marks & Co.  However, after Miss Hanff sends gifts to the shop, some of the other employees secretly write to her sending their thanks.  The correspondence begins in 1949 and continues through 1969.  

My thoughts:  This book has been on my TBR list for a long time.  I am so glad I finally got around to reading it!  It was an enjoyable read that left me wanting to know more about the people writing the letters.  We are given a glimpse into the personalities and lifestyles of the writers, as well as little pieces of history that affect their lives.  Miss Hanff likes to send gifts to the shop for them all to share.  She thoughtfully chooses things that might be difficult to find in London at the time such as meat and eggs.  

The book talk is fascinating as well.  Miss Hanff loves old English books and especially secondhand copies.

"I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest."

Her reading preferences:

"Wasn't anything else that intrigued me much, it's just stories, I don't like stories.  Now if Geoffrey had kept a diary and told me what it was like to be a little clerk in the palace of richard III - THAT I'd learn Olde English for."

"You'll be fascinated to learn (from me that hates novels) that I finally got round to Jane Austen and went out of my mind over Pride & Prejudice which I can't bring myself to take back to the library till you find me a copy of my own."

And this was my favorite bit about housecleaning her books:

"I houseclean my books every spring and throw out those I'm never going to read again like I throw out clothes I am never going to wear again.  It shocks everybody.  My friends are peculiar about books.  They read all the best sellers, they get through them as fast as possible, I think they skip a lot.  And they NEVER read anything a second time so they don't remember a word of it a year later.  But they are profoundly shocked to see me drop a book in the wastebasket or give it away.  The way they look at it, you buy a book, you read it, you put it on the shelf, you never open it again for the rest of your life but YOU DON'T THROW IT OUT!"

I'm not sure that I could bring myself to throw out a book either, but I will definitely give books away.  I enjoyed this short book and am glad I finally read it.