The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
Ratings7
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings7
Average rating3.9
Nancy Mitford meets Nora Ephron in the pages of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanff’s delightful travelogue about her “bucket list” trip to London When devoted Anglophile Helene Hanff is invited to London for the English publication of 84, Charing Cross Road—in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend—she can hardly believe her luck. Frank is no longer alive, but his widow and daughter, along with enthusiastic British fans from all walks of life, embrace Helene as an honored guest. Eager hosts, including a famous actress and a retired colonel, sweep her up in a whirlwind of plays and dinners, trips to Harrod’s, and wild jaunts to their favorite corners of the countryside. A New Yorker who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Helene Hanff delivers an outsider’s funny yet fabulous portrait of idiosyncratic Britain at its best. And whether she is walking across the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to tread, visiting Windsor Castle, or telling a British barman how to make a real American martini, Helene always wears her heart on her sleeve. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is not only a witty account of two different worlds colliding but also a love letter to England and its literary heritage—and a celebration of the written word’s power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.
Reviews with the most likes.
Not nearly as enjoyable as 84 but it was satisfying to read of Helene finally making it to England.
Reading this book makes me feel optimistic, especially when I'm reading it at a sunny table outside a cafe on a lovely lazy day. Add this book to my list of “10 books I'd want want with me if I was marooned on a desert island.” Although in all fairness it should be allowed to share its slot with “84, Charing Cross Road” since they really do make up two halves of a whole. (Also I'm greedy.)
Helene Hanff kept up a correspondence
with a book friend in London for twenty
years. Finally, after publishing a
book composed of letters between the
two, Hanff gets an opportunity to
travel to London.
Of course, she will never get to
meet her friend, who died before
her letters were published.
Nevertheless, she makes the trip and
meets many fans of her book.
Incisive description of people, romantic description of places encountered, hilarious description of events that took place. Absolutely charming follow up to 84, Charing Cross Road; though I read them out of order, I feel like in combination with ‘Q's Legacy', I've completed a memoir/epistolary trilogy.
Hanff also has two books about living in New York that, after seeing how competent she is at non fiction, I'm now eager to read.
Agree with Sykes' introduction: you will enjoy this more if you've read 84, Charing Cross Road first. Though, don't recommend reading the introduction in this edition before the book, as it does what so many introductions insist on doing, telling you about passages from the book you're about to read. Which is why I stick to my policy of reading introductions after I've finished the book.
