Frank Percy Doel (14 July 1908 – 22 December 1968) was a British antiquarian bookseller for
Marks & Co
Marks & Co was a antiquarian bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road, London
London is the capital and 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 Engla ...
in
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
who achieved posthumous fame as the recipient of a series of humorous letters from
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
author
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 t ...
, to which he scrupulously and, at first, very formally replied. The shop where he worked was at
84 Charing Cross Road, the title of a bestselling 1970 book written by Hanff which became a cult classic, a 1981 stage play, and a 1987 film starring
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 ...
as Doel and
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, tw ...
as Hanff.
Early life
He was born in
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, and moved from there to
Harringay
Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...
,
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, when he was eight years old.
From 1919 to 1924, Doel was educated at Hornsey County Grammar School, a
co-educational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
school also attended by his elder brother.
On leaving school, Doel started his first, and only, job with
Marks & Co
Marks & Co was a antiquarian bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road, London
London is the capital and 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 Engla ...
, an antiquarian bookshop, located at 84
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...
, London.
Always known as "young Frank", he learnt the trade from his employers Ben Marks and Mark Cohen.
Family life
Doel was twice married.
In 1936 he married Mary Price, and their daughter, Sheila, was born in 1939.
Mary died in 1945.
In 1947 Doel married Nora Morrison and a second daughter, Mary, was born in 1948.
War service
Doel served during the Second World War in the Middle East as a Private in the
RAOC
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...
.
Character
Doel travelled the country and was well regarded wherever he went. Mark Cohen would describe him as the shop's 'anchor man'.
Doel loved classical music and was, with his brother, a keen supporter of
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
Social life
Doel had many good friends and colleagues in the antiquarian book trade and much of his and Nora's social life centred on the "Bibliomites", the Society of Antiquarian Booksellers Employees, of which he was a Committee Member.
Doel and his wife were friends with both the Soviet double agent
Peter Kroger and his wife (who were both later imprisoned for spying) because Kroger opened a rare bookshop near
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...
's church as a cover for his activities. This friendship is mentioned in
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 t ...
's ''The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street'', a sequel to ''
84, Charing Cross Road
''84, Charing Cross Road'' is a 1970 book by Helene Hanff, 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 antiquarian booksellers, loca ...
''. Nora Doel describes a New Year's Eve at which
Lona Cohen
Lona Cohen (, ''Leontina Vladislavovna Koen''; January 11, 1913 – December 23, 1992), born Leontine Theresa Petka, also known as Helen Kroger, was an American who spied for the Soviet Union. She is known for her role in smuggling atomic bomb d ...
(aka Helen Kroger)
...arrived looking very exotic in a long black evening dress. 'Helen, you look like a Russian spy!' said Nora. And Helen laughed and Peter laughed and a few months later Nora picked up the morning paper and discovered that Helen and Peter Kroger ''were'' Russian spies.
Later life
By the late 1960s Doel was running the business virtually single handed, Marks having died and Cohen too elderly to oversee day-to-day operations.
He died 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 or ...
from a ruptured appendix on 22 December 1968 and his funeral was attended by almost the whole of London antiquarian book trade on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
1969.
" It is with deep sorrow and regret we have to announce the death on the 22nd of December of MR. FRANK DOEL, who has been with us for over forty years. He will be greatly missed by us all and his many friends throughout the country. - Messrs. MARKS & CO., 84, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.2.".
When Hanff belatedly heard of his death she wrote a short autobiographical book which became the classic ''
84, Charing Cross Road
''84, Charing Cross Road'' is a 1970 book by Helene Hanff, 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 antiquarian booksellers, loca ...
''.
Hanff's reaction
/ref> The book was subsequently turned into a stage play and, in 1975, a BBC TV Play for Today with 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 ...
and 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 ...
. In 1987, a filmed version also appeared starring 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 ...
and 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, tw ...
, '' 84 Charing Cross Road''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doel, Frank
1908 births
1968 deaths
Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers
Antiquarian booksellers
English booksellers
Deaths from peritonitis
British Army personnel of World War II
People from Wallasey
People from Harringay
20th-century English businesspeople