84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

In October 1949 a New York author wrote her first letter to Marks & Co., a used bookseller in London. She had seen their advertisement and, unhappy with cheap American editions of classic literature, wanted to try to purchase higher quality copies that wouldn’t break her budget. Thus began a wonderful correspondence between Helene Hanff, a struggling playwright, and Frank Doel, bookseller. 

It’s difficult to explain the appeal of this book, composed primarily of copies of letters exchanged (with a few notes from other people interspersed) but it’s one of those books whom people either adore or else find extremely dull.  Hanff’s personality shines through, a stereotypical brash New Yorker but a generous and compassionate one; Doel is more restrained, something of the stiff upper lip sort but one can see the friendship blossom.  Hanff can wax lyrical about some of the books she’s read or read about so even if I don’t know the book or passage she references I certainly feel the passion behind them.

Hanff realizes from a friend that England is still under rationing, so that staples like eggs or meat are precious commodities.  She arranges to have some gift packages sent to the employees of Marks & Co., much to their delight and gratitude.  Some of the other employees send letters as well, with admonishments not to tell Mr. Doel that they have presumed to write to his favorite customer.

I found the whole book to be a delight, and was thoroughly charmed by it—so much so that when I heard there was to be a movie, I was somewhat alarmed.  There’s a reason people were shirts proclaiming, “Don’t judge a book by its movie.” With rare exceptions, most fall far short of the book and those are preferable to the ones that totally ruin a book.

But I was happily surprised by 84, Charing Cross Road the movie.  For one thing, it was impeccably cast, with Anne Bancroft as Helene and Anthony Hopkins as Frank.  Bancroft loved the book, so her husband Mel Brooks brought the movie rights for her as a gift. Like the book, it’s not a movie for everyone—not a car chase in sight, for one thing—but it is also well loved.

I’ve gone on to read some of Hanff’s other work, including The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street which is the story of how she finally makes it to England.  I’m currently reading Q’s Legacy; it tells how she fell in love with English Literature thanks to some books by a British professor, and of another trip she took to England. This time she was watching the filming of a BBC production of 84, Charing Cross Road.

If you liked Hanff’s voice in  84, Charing Cross Road, then you’ll hear it even more clearly in her other books.  I have found them all hard to put down.

A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Annie Murray, fresh off her success from the town-wide mystery themed festival she organized to promote her store, The Secret Bookcase, is approached to handle a movie premier. The movie is, of course, a mystery in the vein of Hitchcock, and the director thinks this would be the perfect way to draw attention to the independent film.

Trouble starts almost immediately. Heather Hathaway, the film’s director, chose Redwood Grove ostensibly for its small town charm and lack of Hollywood glitz; now she is looking for big city amenities and pitching a fit. Things only get worse when Martin Parker, a powerful and disliked film critic, shows up with an uninvited guest, and makes it known that he already doesn’t like the film.  Cora Mitchell, the film’s star, is desperate for this film to be her big break into the business. The only calm one is Sam, the film’s producer, an older and experienced gentleman who appears to be watching the others with an amused eye.

With all the tension among the personalities, it’s not surprising that someone ends up dead before the movie’s first showing is over.

What this series has that is just a bit different from some others is that there is a mystery arc going on.  Annie was a criminology student when her best friend Scarlett was murdered, a case that remains unsolved and which caused Annie to leave college.  It also affected Annie’s former professor, who left teaching and joined the police.  Dr. Caldwell is the lead detective, and encourages observations from her former student as they work to solve the current murder, while still investigating Scarlett’s death. This is very much in the background, though I expect it to come more and more to the forefront in subsequent books.

Alexander is an experienced cozy writer, best known for her Bakeshop Mystery series which has over 20 books and more to come.  This is the second in the Secret Bookcase Mystery series; you need not have read the first.  I liked the “behind the scenes” sort of feel about movies and critics, and I liked the small town feel. There’s a good supporting cast to fill in gaps and provide moral support and coffee.  While I’m less fond of one of the side plots, it appears that may resolve satisfactorily soon.  I am intrigued by the mystery surrounding Scarlett’s death, and I like the characters enough that I’m game for another visit to Redwood Grove.

Secret Bookcase Mystery series:

The Body in the Bookstore

A Murder at the Movies

Death at the Dinner Party

A Holiday Homicide

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

London, 1921: Twenty-one year old Opaline Carlisle has just been informed by her brother that he has arranged a marriage for her with someone she has never met.  A spirited girl, she has no intention of being forced into wedlock, so she pretends to agree. Instead, that night she slips away with some books from her late father’s prized collection and escapes to Paris with the intention of becoming a bookseller.

Dublin, the present: Martha is also running away, trying to escape an abusive husband. With no firm plan in mind, she ends up in Dublin and takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for the flamboyant and imperious Madame Bowden. She’s startled one day to find an Englishman pacing beside the house. Henry is an odd young man, a scholar, who claims he is looking for a bookshop that is supposed to be beside the house.  The bookshop was supposed to belong to a renowned bookseller and collector, Opaline Gray.  Martha is a bit skeptical, but there’s something attractive about him.

Henry, for his part, realizes that Martha is perhaps the most intriguing woman that he has ever met. Unfortunately, he also realizes that he has not made the best of impressions.  He’s going to have to find some charm if he is going to learn anything about the bookshop—or the woman.

The book goes back and forth between these three characters, telling us of Opaline’s life as Henry and Martha search for clues—and deal with their own feelings.  They all have secrets, but as we all know secrets have a habit of not staying buried for long.

This is a charming book with beguiling characters who draw you into their stories.  There’s a thread of magical realism running through the book, and not just the mysterious bookshop. Opaline’s story is darker, though, and at times a sad and sobering look at women’s rights in past eras, or rather lack thereof. Overall the book is a beautiful tribute to readers and books, and the transformative power to be found there.  I was invested in all three of the main characters, and anxiously turned pages to discover their fates. There were a number of surprises along the way as well.

One of my favorite parts is when Opaline ends up in Paris where she gets a job at the legendary bookstore, Shakespeare and Company.  In the 1920s, the store was a second home to many great writers, including James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzagerald, all of whom were supported by the store’s owner, Sylvia Beach.  Woods did a lovely job of evoking that era—I wish there had been more chapters!

I am very much looking forward to her next book, The Story Collector, which deals with an Irish farm girl who helps an American translate Irish folk and fairy tales. It’s due out in August, and promises to be just as magical as this book.

Death Overdue by Mary Lou Kirwin

Reviewed by Jeanne

Librarian Karen Nash has impulsively left Minnesota for London with possible love of her life Caldwell Perkins to set up a bookshop in the B & B he owns.  Things get complicated when Caldwell’s former girlfriend Sally shows up, new beau in tow, and demands her half of the B & B.  Sally doesn’t have long to make these demands, though, as she’s terminally flattened by a bookcase soon after her arrival.  Who could have unlatched the case? Karen is sure it couldn’t have been Caldwell—could it?—so that leaves limited suspect pool.  Of course, the police are including Karen in that pool as well, so she really needs to do some investigating on her own, right?  

This is a cozy mystery, the second in a series after Killer Librarian.  Karen is an appealing narrator, a youngish woman who is trying to decide whether or not to stay in England or to go back to her life in Minnesota. She loves books and Caldwell (not necessarily in that order) but this is a huge change and there are a few little niggling doubts in her head; plus she misses her friends back home, and hasn’t really made many new ones.  Brenda, Caldwell’s assistant in the B & B, certainly doesn’t like Karen and is thrilled that Sally may be back; Bruce, an avid book collector, is more interested in finding out what new collectible books Caldwell has located; and Penelope, Sally’s sister, is more intent on the long-running feud with Sally. 

This is a light, fun read with a dash of local color thrown in.  Karen tries to remember that a bookstore is a bookshop here and to how to convert meters into feet.  There are a number of book references to please bibliophiles and much tea is drunk.  In short, it’s a nice traditional mystery without car chases or serial killers.