In the Spirit – 84, Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

My Nibble
Cecily shared a recipe for Yorkshire Pudding with Helene in the book. I must confess that until I went to England a couple of years ago, I thought that it was actually a type of dessert pudding (wrong). I don’t like dessert pudding (sorry Bill Cosby), so it was not something that I had ever considered eating.

In the spirit of the book, I have decided to make some Yorkshire Pudding. I am going to make a British dinner of it. I am going to use a recipe posted by Jan Laskey for Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding on www.allrecipes.com. The pudding recipe is slightly different from the one in the book. Did you try it?

My YouTube.com Playlist
84, Charing Cross Road

Less polite in written words?

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff


The real fun of this book is seeing the evolution of their friendship. Helene Hanff cracked me up with how jazzy at the mouth she was in comparison with the more reserved Frank Doel (though he too loosened up over time). She even noted that she said some of the most outrageous things from a safe distance (from across the ocean) in her letters.

One of my favorite bits of the book was, “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.” Very jazzy. After chewing him out about the Pepys, Hanff’s postscript of the same letter kindly asked, “Fresh eggs or powdered for X-Mas?” Too funny.

Today people are writing others more than ever via social networks, postal mail, email and text messages. The book has made me reflect on some of the stuff that I have written to others. Was I looser with the lips than I would be in person? Hhhmmm.

Are you less polite in written communications than you would be in person?

"84, Charing Cross Road" - Book Reference List

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Clearly, Hanff and I have different taste in books. Her tastes leaned toward the antiquarian. The only book that I have read from her requests to Marks & Co. is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And perhaps The Canterbury Tales in high school- I cannot recall exactly. I definitely would not attempt to read anything in Latin (I can recall that from high school).

Surprisingly, our differences did not impact my enjoyment of the book. The collection of letters is absolutely charming. In fact, I think that I may give a couple of the books a try because she thought so highly of them. I have attempted to find comparable versions of the books Hanff requested on Amazon.com (see below). She had very particular tastes - requesting specific versions based on editor, illustrator, publisher, etc.

Have you read any of the books?

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Get reviews and shop for the books on Amazon.com:

Hanff, Helene: 84, Charing Cross Road

• 84, Charing Cross Road

Austen, Jane: Pride And Prejudice

• Pride And Prejudice

Arkwright, Francis (translator): Memoirs of the Duke de Saint-Simon

• Memoirs of the Duke de Saint-Simon

Belloc, Hillaire: Essays

• The Best of Hilaire Bell The book doesn't mention a specific book.
  

Catullus (Loeb Classics)

• The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus, improved 7/4/2009: I believe that this is the Richard Burton translation that sent Hanff under the bed.

Chaucer, Geoffrey: The Canterbury Tales (leather bound) translated by Hill, published by Longmans in 1934

• The Canterbury Tales (regular paperback)
  

Delafield, E.M.: Diary Of A Provincial Lady

• Diary Of A Provincial Lady

Dobson, Austen (editor): The Sir Roger De Coverley Papers

• The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, from the Spectator

Donne, John: Sermons

• John Donne - The Major Works: including Songs and Sonnets and sermons (Oxford World's Classics)

Grahame, Kenneth: The Wind in the Willows (Shepard illustrations)

• The Wind in the Willows (Signet Classics)

Greek New Testament

• A Reader's Greek New Testament: 2nd Edition

Grolier Bible

Hazlitt, William: Selected Essays Of William Hazlitt 1778 To 1830 (Nonesuch Press edition)

• Selected Essays of William Hazlitt 1778 to 1830

Horace - Loeb Classics

• The Complete Odes and Epodes (Oxford World's Classics)

Hunt, Leigh: Essays.

• Leigh Hunt: Selected Writings (Fyfield Books)

Johnson, Samuel: On Shakespeare (introduction by Walter Raleigh)

• Johnson on Shakespeare: essays and notes

Jonson, Ben: Timber

• Timber: Or, Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter

Lamb, Charles: Essays of Elia

• Essays of Elia / by Charles Lamb

Landor, Walter Savage: Vol II of The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor Imaginary Conversations

• Imaginary Conversations and Poems - A Selection

Latin Anglican New Testament

Latin Vulgate Bible / Latin Vulgate New Testament

• Novum Testamentum Latine (Latin Vulgate New Testament, The Latin New Testament) (Latin Edition)

Latin Vulgate Dictionary

• Dictionary of the Vulgate New Testament (Nouum Testamentum Latine): A Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin

Leonard, R. M. (editor): The Book-Lover's Anthology

• THE BOOK-LOVER'S ANTHOLOGY

Newman, John Henry: Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education. "'Idea of a University"

• The idea of a university: defined and illustrated

Pepys, Samuel: Pepys Diary

• Diary of Samuel Pepys - Volume 04: March/April 1659-1660

Plato's Four Socratic Dialogues

• The Four Socratic Dialogues of Plato

Quiller-Couch, Arthur: The Oxford Book Of English Verse

• The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250 - 1900

Quiller-Couch, Arthur: The Pilgrim's Way

• The Pilgrims' Way: A Little Scrip of Good Counsel for Travellers

Quiller-Couch, Arthur: Oxford Book of English Prose

• The Oxford Book of English Prose

Sappho - Loeb Classics

• The Complete Poems of Sappho

Sterne, Lauence: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

• The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (Oxford World's Classics)

Stevenson, Robert Louis: Virginibus Puerisque

• Virginibus Puerisque and Other Essays (Cambridge Scholars Publishing Classics Texts)

de Tocqueville, Alexis: Journey to America

• Alexis De Tocqueville: Journey to America

Wyatt, Thomas: Poems of Thomas Wyatt

• The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)

Walton, Izaak: The Complete Angler

• The Complete Angler 1653

Walton, Izaak: The Lives of - John Donne - Sir Henry Wotton - Richard Hooker - George Herbert & Robert Sanderson

• The Lives of - John Donne - Sir Henry Wotton - Richard Hooker - George Herbert & Robert Sanderson

Woolf, Virginia: The Common Reader

• The Common Reader: First Series, Annotated Edition

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140422277?ie=UTF8&tag=unascri-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0140422277">The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=unascri-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0140422277" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

Side Notes - 84 Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Unofficial Website
Great site about the Marks & Co. store and the book "84, Charing Cross Road." You can find more information on the store and the book's characters.

84 Charing Cross Road, revisited

Facebook Fan Page
84 Charing Cross Road

Movie Trailer
Posted on YouTube.com by movietrailer25



Review of the Play
"Stage: '84 Charing Cross Road' Opens" by Frank Rich from the New York Times (December 8, 1982)

www.youtube.com/v/7BKcExKy1Fc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US

Unlikely Connections Through A Love of ______?

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

"You see how it is Frankie, you're the only soul alive who understands me." Helene Hanff, 84, Charing Cross Road

Before I actually read 84, Charing Cross Road, I thought that it was a romance between two people (based on brief descriptions of the book). Instead, it is about a friendship between two people who share a love of literature through letters. Ah ... bibliophilia. This book is a treat for book lovers - even those not of antiquarian tastes like the author. It is a quick delightful read.

The book is a collection of letter spanning 20 years (1949 - 1969). I have always been a fan of written letters and shutter at the thought that email is reducing their numbers. I think that people are less respectful of emails. Inbox too full? Delete. Delete. Delete. No stashing away in a box for safe keeping.

Will anyone stumble upon my inbox of crafty emails in fifty years? Doubtful.

On the upside,  I would imagine that email and the Internet make connections of this type in even more likely today. Have you ever developed a friendship with an unlikely stranger through a special interest or hobby via mail, email or the Internet?


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Get reviews and shop for “84, Charing Cross Road” on Amazon.com:

Book (Paperback) - 84, Charing Cross Road

Video (DVD) - 84 Charing Cross Road

Video (On Demand) - 84 Charing Cross Road

DYK about 84, Charing Cross Road?

Anne Bancroft stars in the movie adaptation of  the book, 84, Charing Cross Road. Her husband, Mel Brooks (also the movie's producer), purchased the rights to the book for her as an anniversary present. How cool is that?