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84 Charing Cross Road

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About this listen

 Told in a series of letters, this true story of the correspondence between a New York writer and a London bookseller has touched the hearts of thousands.©1970 Helene Hanff; (P)2007 Hachette Audio Art & Literature Authors Letters & Correspondence Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Funny Feel-Good Heartfelt Inspiring Witty

Critic reviews

"The twenty year correspondence between bookseller Frank Doel, who worked at Marks & Co, specialists in rare and second-hand books, and Helene Hanff, an impoverished New York writer with an irresistible urge to buy books, made joyous reading when it first appeared in 1970 and this unabridged recording of 84 Charing Cross Road makes pleasant listening." ( The Express)
"Human kindness is wonderfully to the fore in this little classic of autobiography, and the combined readings of Juliet Stevenson and John Nettles characterise the writers exquisitely." ( The Times)
"One of the subtlest, sharpest, most moving relationships ever formed between pen pals. I can't imagine it without Stevenson and Nettles. Her warmth, his reticence, their shared love of old books - onionskin pages, leather-bound and gold-embossed, with flyleaf dedications circa 1847 and pencilled notes in the margin - made me weep."( The Guardian)
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Truly amazing! Loved it so very much. I would highly recommend this super classic. Wonderfully read and produced. Five stars!

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The true life correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York, and Frank Doel, a secondhand bookseller working for Marks & Co in London. Helene started writing letters to secondhand bookshop Marks & Co (at 84 Charing Cross Road) in 1949 to request books that she couldn’t find in New York. And what followed was 20 years of a beautiful friendship between two very different people who shared a mutual love of books.

This was absolutely delightful! I really loved Helene, she was sassy, bold, sometimes a little bit rude, and straight to the point. Frank would always reply to her letters very formally and politely, which really added to its charm. These two very different people start this unlikely friendship having never met each other, and separated by an ocean, through their love of books. It’s really a love letter to books. After a while, the employees at Marks & Co come to look forward to Helene’s letters, and they also start to write to her as well. I really enjoyed hearing all of their correspondences, and I could really relate to their love of literature. I couldn’t wait to hear what Helene had to say next, and then what Frank’s reply would be, he always managed to be polite even when she was being very demanding. I really loved the narrators too, Juliet Stevenson was able to deliver the sassiness of Helene’s letters, as well as some of the other more formal employees, and Frank’s Irish wife Nora. John Nettles (narrator of UK TV series Airport) has a very soothing voice, which was perfect for someone who’s very formal and polite.

I really don’t think that there was anything that I didn’t like about this book. I just loved everything about it, and I even had a little cry at the end.

I would definitely recommend this to everyone who loves books, nonfiction love stories (about books), reading real life letters to and from two very different people, and epistolary stories.

Loved it!

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I love the film, the book, and now the audible version.

Excellently delivered.

I love the dialogue, the story and the back and forth...and the fact that it's a story about a woman who loves books...at all cost.

Pure joy.

Heartbreakingly Lovely

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Beautifully performed.

This is a delight from start to finish. Not a long listen at 2 hours and 11 minutes, but one that I will return to time and again!

Perfection - the narration is sublime

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a series of letters with a lot of interesting social history. I would have preferred more of a story in amongst the letters

interesting book well read

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