''84, Charing Cross Road'' is a 1970 book by

Helene Hanff Helene Hanff (April 15, 1916April 9, 1997) was an American writer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the author of the book '' 84, Charing Cross Road'', which became the basis for a stage play, television play, and film of ...

, later made into a stage play, television play, and film, about the twenty-year correspondence between the author and Frank Doel, chief buyer of

Marks & Co Marks & Co was a antiquarian bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. The shop was founded in the 1920s by Benjamin Marks and Mark Cohen. Cohen was persuaded to allow his name to be abbreviated in the company's name. A book of correspondence be ...

antiquarian booksellers, located at the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

address in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England.

Background

Hanff was in search of obscure classics and British literature titles that she had been unable to find in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

when she noticed an ad in the ''

Saturday Review of Literature ''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...

''. She first contacted the shop in 1949 and it fell to Doel to fulfil her requests. In time, a long-distance friendship developed between the two and between Hanff and other staff members, as well, with an exchange of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

packages, birthday gifts and food parcels to help with the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

food shortages in Britain. Their letters included discussions about topics as diverse as the sermons of John Donne, how to make

Yorkshire Pudding Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compon ...

, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the

coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

. Hanff postponed visiting her English friends until too late; Doel died in December 1968 from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

from a burst appendix, and the bookshop eventually closed in December 1970. Hanff did finally visit Charing Cross Road and the empty shop in the summer of 1971, a trip recorded in her 1973 book ''The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street''.

The shop's site today

The five-story building where Marks & Co. was located during the events of the book still exists . A circular brass plaque on a

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

on the street frontage acknowledges the story and marks the site. The premises were occupied by a music and CD shop in the early 1990s, and later other retail outlets. In 2009 they housed a Med Kitchen restaurant; and now form part of a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

restaurant. In New York, the apartment house at 305 East 72nd Street, near Second Avenue, Hanff’s home from 1956 and from where she wrote her later letters, has been renamed “Charing Cross House” in her honor.

Bibliography

Partial list of the books that Helene Hanff ordered from Marks & Co. and mentioned in ''84, Charing Cross Road'' (alphabetical order): * Austen, Jane. '' Pride and Prejudice'', (1813) * Arkwright, Francis trans. ''Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon'' * Belloc, Hillaire. ''Essays''. *

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...

– Loeb Classics * Chaucer, Geoffrey '' The Canterbury Tales'' translated by Hill, published by Longmans 1934) * Delafield, E. M., ''Diary of a Provincial Lady'' * Dobson, Austen ed. '' The Sir Roger De Coverley Papers'' * Donne, John ''Sermons'' * Elizabethan Poetry * Grahame, Kenneth, ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'' * Greek New Testament *

Grolier Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...

Bible * Hazlitt, William. ''Selected Essays Of William Hazlitt 1778 To 1830'', Nonesuch Press edition. * Horace – Loeb Classics * Hunt, Leigh. ''Essays''. * Johnson, Samuel, ''On Shakespeare'', 1908, Intro by Walter Raleigh * Jonson, Ben. ''Timber'' * Lamb, Charles. ''

Essays of Elia ''Essays of Elia'' is a collection of essays written by Charles Lamb; it was first published in book form in 1823, with a second volume, ''Last Essays of Elia'', issued in 1833 by the publisher Edward Moxon. The essays in the collection first be ...

'', (1823). * Landor, Walter Savage. Vol II of ''The Works and Life of Walter Savage Landor'' (1876) – ''

Imaginary Conversations ''Imaginary Conversations'' is Walter Savage Landor's most celebrated prose work. Begun in 1823, sections were constantly revised and were ultimately published in a series of five volumes. The conversations were in the tradition of dialogues with ...

'' * Latin Anglican New Testament * Latin Vulgate Bible / Latin Vulgate New Testament * Latin Vulgate Dictionary * Leonard, R. M. ed. The Book-Lover's Anthology, (1911) * Newman, John Henry. ''Discourses on the Scope and Nature of University Education. Addressed to the Catholics of Dublin'' – "The Idea of a University" (1852 and 1858) * Pepys, Samuel. ''Pepys Diary'' – 4 Volume Braybrook ed. (1926, revised ed.) *

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's ''Four Socratic Dialogues'', 1903 * Quiller-Couch, Arthur, ''The Oxford Book Of English Verse'' * Quiller-Couch, Arthur, ''The Pilgrim's Way'' * Quiller-Couch, Arthur, ''Oxford Book of English Prose'' * Sappho – Loeb Classics * St. John, Christopher Ed. ''

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

and

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

: A Correspondence / The Shaw – Terry Letters : A Romantic Correspondence'' * Sterne, Laurence, ''

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by '' Don Quixote''. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others follow ...

'', (1759) * Stevenson, Robert Louis. ''Virginibus Puerisque'' * de Tocqueville, Alexis ''Journey to America'' (1831–1832) * Wyatt, Thomas. ''Poems of Thomas Wyatt'' * Walton, Izaak and Charles Cotton. ''

The Compleat Angler ''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continu ...

''. (John Major's 2nd ed., 1824) * Walton, Izaak. ''The Lives of – John Donne – Sir Henry Wotton – Richard Hooker – George Herbert & Robert Sanderson'' * Woolf, Virginia, ''The Common Reader'', 1932.

Adaptations

Television

Hugh Whitemore Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Biography Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...

adapted ''84, Charing Cross Road'' for the BBC's '' Play for Today'', a television anthology series. It was first broadcast on 4 November 1975, starring

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''. In 1983, Finlay was directed by Ital ...

and

Anne Jackson Anne Jackson (September 3, 1925 – April 12, 2016); retrieved April 16, 2016Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2016. was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-sta ...

Theatre

In 1981,

James Roose-Evans James Roose-Evans (11 November 1927 – 26 October 2022) was a British theatre director, priest, and writer on experimental theatre, ritual and meditation. In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club, in London; in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for ...

adapted it for the stage and it was first produced at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

with a cast headed by

Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...

as Hanff and David Swift as Doel. It transferred to the West End, where it opened to universally ecstatic reviews. It toured nationally and was performed by Miriam Karlin in 1990 and later by

Rula Lenska Rula Lenska (born Róża Maria Leopoldyna Łubieńska, 30 September 1947) is a British actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions and is known in the United States for a series of television advertisements in the 19 ...

and Bill Gaunt. It returned to the Salisbury Playhouse in 2015, running 5–28 February with

Clive Francis Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief ...

and

Janie Dee Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award ...

in the lead roles. It was also performed at the

Cambridge Arts Theatre Cambridge Arts Theatre is a 666-seat theatre on Peas Hill and St Edward's Passage in central Cambridge, England. The theatre presents a varied mix of drama, dance, opera and pantomime. It attracts some of the highest-quality touring productions ...

in 2018 by Clive Francis and Stefanie Powers, before embarking on a UK tour. After fifteen previews, the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened to mixed reviews on 7 December 1982 at the

Nederlander Theatre The Nederlander Theatre (formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, it was des ...

with

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

and

Joseph Maher Joseph Sylvester Maher (29 December 1933 – 17 July 1998) was an Irish actor, playwright, and occasionally theatre director. He was best known for his roles in the comedies of Joe Orton. He received three Tony Award nominations for his roles in ...

. It ran for 96 performances.

Radio

Virginia Browns adapted the story for BBC Radio drama, and it was broadcast on Radio 3 on 15 January 1976, with Margaret Robertson as Hanff and

Lyndon Brook Lyndon Brook (10 April 1926 – 9 January 2004) was a British actor, on film and television. Family and early life Lyndon Brook was born on 10 April 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to British parents. He came from an established acting fami ...

as Doel. The play was produced by Christopher Venning. James Roose-Evans again adapted the play for a 1992 BBC radio production starring

, who had played Doel in the 1975 TV production, and Miriam Karlin and a 2007 production starring

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

and Denis Lawson, broadcast on Christmas Day on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Film

Whitemore returned to the project to write the screenplay for the 1987 film adaptation starring

Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two ...

and

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

. The ''dramatis personae'' were expanded to include Hanff's

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

friends, the bookshop staff, and Doel's wife Nora, played by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

. Bancroft won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Dench was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. This award ...

and Whitemore for

BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968, when the original category (BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) was split into two awards, the other being the BA ...

. The Chinese-Hong Kong film ''Book of Love'' or '' Finding Mr. Right 2'' (Chinese: 北京遇上西雅圖之不二情書) (2016) references, and is loosely inspired by, ''84, Charing Cross Road''.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, qid=Q913674, title=84 Charing Cross Road – film, 1987
Marks & Co
1970 books Books about friendship Books adapted into films Books adapted into plays Literary autobiographies Charing Cross Road English-language books