We all have those books — books on our shelves, that we know we should read, that we absolutely WANT to read… and yet, somehow, we just never seem to pick them up and actually, you know, read them.

Well, score one for me! I’ve had 84, Charing Cross Road sitting on my shelf for at least ten years now, and this week, the time finally arrived, and I read it all in one sitting!

“84, Charing Cross Road” is a charming record of bibliophilia, cultural differences, and imaginative sympathy. For 20 years, an outspoken New York writer and a rather more restrained London bookseller carried on an increasingly touching correspondence. In her first letter to Marks & Co., Helene Hanff encloses a wish list, but warns, “The phrase ‘antiquarian booksellers’ scares me somewhat, as I equate ‘antique’ with expensive.” Twenty days later, on October 25, 1949, a correspondent identified only as FPD let Hanff know that works by Hazlitt and Robert Louis Stevenson would be coming under separate cover. When they arrive, Hanff is ecstatic – but unsure she’ll ever conquer “bilingual arithmetic.” By early December 1949, Hanff is suddenly worried that the six-pound ham she’s sent off to augment British rations will arrive in a kosher office. But only when FPD turns out to have an actual name, Frank Doel, does the real fun begin.

Two years later, Hanff is outraged that Marks & Co. has dared to send an abridged Pepys diary. “I enclose two limp singles, I will make do with this thing till you find me a real Pepys. THEN I will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT.” Nonetheless, her postscript asks whether they want fresh or powdered eggs for Christmas. Soon they’re sharing news of Frank’s family and Hanff’s career.

84, Charing Cross Road is just as wonderful as everyone promised! First off, as soon as I opened the book, I realized that I’d misunderstood what it was about all this time. I thought this book was fiction. It’s not. It’s a selection of the letters sent between the author, a New York freelance writer, and members of the staff of Marks & Co. Booksellers, located in London, spanning the course of over 20 years.

The correspondence starts with a request for certain books, but builds from there to establish a more personal connection between the author and her main correspondent, Frank Doel, as well as Frank’s wife, their neighbor, and other members of the bookstore staff.

The letters begin in 1949, as England is still suffering under post-war shortages; Helene Hanff’s Christmas gifts of meat and eggs do wonders for the bookstore staff’s morale, and their grateful notes back to her are heartwarming and endearing.

84, Charing Cross Road is a lovely, simple book about finding friendship through a love of books. It’s sweet without being cloying, often very funny, and touching as well.

To all those who’ve encouraged me to read this book, now I know why! I loved it. What a treasure.

Published: 1970
Length: 97 pages
Rating:

It’s fun to see how many covers and versions there are of this book! Sadly, it does not appear that an e-book version is available in the US. Still, the book covers are quite fun to compare and enjoy:

There’s also a movie version (1987), starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft — can’t wait to check it out!