84, Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff
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BIBLIOTECA TECLA SALA October 18, 2018 84, Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff Introduction 84, Charing Cross Road, published in 1970, is constructed from a collection of correspondence between the author and a London bookseller, Frank Doel. The relationship began as Hanff delved into the work of a professor at Cambridge University. Professor "Q," as he is called, became the catalyst for Hanff's letter writing. Her admiration for the professor fueled her pursuit of classic literature, resulting in the inquiries comprising this work. 84, Charing Cross Road spans a twenty-year period, incidentally chronicling events abroad, such as Winston Churchill's 1951 election in London and the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 1960. This story thematically touches on the ideas of lack and sufficiency, whether it be Helene's bibliomania Contents: (obsession for books) or a black-market trade of eggs for a pair of pantyhose in London. It is a story of Introduction 1 beginnings and endings as represented by each letter, from date to signature. The power of language figures Brief Author 2 prominently, presenting the challenge of inference in Biography the white space of the text as Helene waits breathlessly for her next letter to arrive. Finally, it is a Some notes on the 3-4 story of appearances for exactly the same reason: the historical context only information the reader has is based on a series of letters, hardly the means by which one can accurately 84, Charing Cross 5 infer much about the characters. Despite what seem Road made me a to be shortcomings, the appeal of this mysterious plot writer is what serves to entice and delight the reader's imagination. Notes 6 [https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational- magazines/84-charing-cross-road] Page 2 Brief Author Biography Hanff's experience as a playwright is attributable to professional activity with the Theater Guild. She is the author of thirty scripts for television's Hallmark Hall of Fame and Matinee Theater, and contributed to eight United States Army training films. Other television work includes a writing stint with the program The Adventures of Ellery Queen. Her awards include a CBS grant-in-aid for work on historic scripts for television. She has also contributed to magazines such as Harper's, The New Yorker, and Reader's Digest. Other career highlights include her monthly "Women's Hour" broadcasts over BBC radio, as recalled in Letter from New York, her 1992 book which contains Helene Hanff was born April 15, The author's work is largely excerpts from the program. 1916, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. comprised of publications for Hanff's contribution to the radio Although she attended Temple children and young adults, show characterizes her love University for one year, she did constituting a collection of for New York, as shared in not pursue a degree. Critics historical works for a young upbeat anecdotes and other attribute the bulk of her literary audience. However, she is random observations of her background to her penchant for perhaps most recognized for her community. After a long and books. In her work entitled Q's work addressing adult fruitful career, Hanff died of Legacy, she speaks of the audiences. 84, Charing Cross pneumonia April 9, 1997, in New professor whose reading Road is her greatest achievement York City. recommendations became the in this regard, in terms of the [https://www.encyclopedia.com/ foundation for her literary notoriety she received from it. arts/educational-magazines/84- education. A self-taught classicist, Published in 1970, the success of charing-cross-road] Hanff was a screenwriter and the work made subsequent author. She was first employed as adaptations for film and stage a manuscript reader for possible. 84, Charing Cross Paramount Pictures, and then Road chronicles twenty years of accepted a position as a television Hanff's life as a writer through scriptwriter for Columbia her correspondence with the Broadcasting System (CBS) and employees at a London-based National Broadcasting Company antiquarian bookstore, Marks & (NBC). Co. Page 3 Some notes on the historical context Churchill's Conservative that October they earned Government the Suez Canal zone and the baseball's highest honor by Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. With winning the World Series, while In 1951 Winston Churchill forty-four percent ownership of also defeating their rivals, the succeeded Clement the canal's French operating New York Yankees. The Attlee as prime minister, company, the British refused to Dodgers had previously won the signaling an end to the Labor budge, believing the region National League pennant seven government and a victory for the would be of great strategic times without going on to win Conservatives. The new leader import in a conflict with the the Series; hence the Brooklyn immediately asserted England's Soviets. adage, "wait till next year." The need to economize on foreign 1955 Series went the full seven Churchill had many political spending, including restrictions games before the Brooklyn objectives in 1951, including the on food and British tourism. In victory became a reality. Hanff's work, for example, the denationalization of the steel value of receiving a food parcel industry in response to an During 1955 major league of meat from Helene was overwhelming public outcry. baseball experienced an overall enormous, with the imposed The government was also active increase in attendance of meat ration set at less than in the affairs of the North 688,265 people. With respect to twenty cents per person per Atlantic Treaty Organization, an the American League, Milwaukee week. At the same time, both anti-communist military alliance was the clear leader in the Labor government and the formed by eleven Western attendance, attracting a crowd of Conservative government nations, including the United 2,005,836 fans in 1955. American pushed for increased arms States. League highlights for 1955 spending in the billions, in included outstanding Baseball in America reaction to both the Korean performances by Mickey Mantle, campaign and a perceived threat When Helene asks Frank to hitting thirty-seven homeruns for of communism. root for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the year, and Al Kaline, the she is responding to a banner Detroit Tiger outfielder, who at Two international disputes year for the team in 1955, when twenty years of age becomes the figured prominently in British politics. The first was with Iran, when the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was expelled from Iran in 1951, resulting in a blatant breach of contract. The company owned the largest oil refinery in the world on the Persian Gulf, with the British government holding a controlling interest. This conflict between nations explains character Cecily's move to the Persian Gulf to be with her husband, a member of the military stationed there. Another conflict arose with Egypt over its attempts to force the country out of Page 4 youngest player ever to win a work was born out of her batting championship, with a .340 research of former Smith average that year. College classmates, to whom Friedan sent questionnaires to The Democratic Comeback follow-up on their post-college lives. What she discovered was "I belong to a Democratic club," says Helene, "[I] read a couple of that these middle- and upper- newspaper stories about the middle-class women were presidential hopefuls—Stevenson, overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the role for which society had Humphrey, Kennedy, Stassen, Nixon." In 1959 the Democrats typecast them, that of wife and came up with an elaborate plan mother. Friedan called these women victims of the "feminine to take control of the White House from the Republican Party. mystique," or the belief that for a Four U.S. Senators were woman to step outside of the considered chief contenders for role of wife and mother was unnatural, if not dangerous. The the Democratic presidential nomination, including John F. book opened up a realm of Kennedy, Hubert H. Humphrey, possibilities for women, who up until this point had been afraid to Stuart Symington, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Adlai E. Stevenson was voice their dissatisfaction with also favored but personally the status quo. The popularity of rejected the idea. Of all of the the book was only part of Friedan's contribution to the candidates, John F. Kennedy would realize the feminist movement. In 1966 the greatest success. He spoke of his author founded the National Organization for Catholicism openly and felt the subject of religion in general a Women (NOW). target for political debate. He [https://www.encyclopedia.com/ also won the support of many arts/educational-magazines/84- with his views on labor-reform charing-cross-road] legislation. Both factors were cited as contributing to his successful victory against Eisenhower in 1960. The Feminine Mystique Women of the early 1960s were experiencing burgeoning intellectual liberation on college campuses across America, and from this time of great expansion in the feminist movement came the work of freelance magazine journalist Betty Friedan. Her Page 5 84, Charing Cross Road made me a writer By Jean Hanff Korelitz even there yet,” she’d written in the books acquired from 84 The first time I went to Helene a 1956 letter to Frank Doel, the Charing Cross Road. Nearby Hanff’s apartment at 305 East general manager of a London were the desk on which she had 72nd Street, it was 1977 and I was antiquarian bookstore called written her half of the famous a 16-year-old girl who wanted to Marks & Co. correspondence, the typewriter be a writer. She was a mysterious on which she’d typed it, and the 61-year-old author who had sent Doel had been very proper piles of letters that had arrived me a postcard – white cardboard when Helene first contacted him for her daily since its publication edged in brown – on which she in 1949 with a request for books (as her address appeared had scrawled a message in brown unavailable in New York, at least numerous times in every edition, felt-tip pen that began with the on her income; his letters had at they would continue to do so salutation: “Cousin!” first been signed “FPD for Marks until the end of her life).