84 Charing Cross Road
Encyclopedia
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 her and Frank Doel
, chief buyer of Marks & Co
, antiquarian booksellers located at the eponymous address in London
, England
.
Hanff, in search of obscure classics and British literature titles she had been unable to find in New York City
, noticed an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature and first contacted the shop in 1949, and it fell to Doel to fulfill her requests. In time, a long-distance friendship evolved, not only between the two, but between Hanff and other staff members as well, with an exchange of Christmas
packages, birthday gifts, and food parcels to compensate for post-World War II
food shortages in England. Their letters included discussions about topics as diverse as the sermons of John Donne
, how to make Yorkshire Pudding
, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the coronation of Elizabeth II.
Hanff postponed visiting her English
friends until too late; Doel died in December 1968 from peritonitis
from a burst appendix
, and the bookshop eventually closed. Hanff did finally visit Charing Cross Road
and the empty but still standing shop in the summer of 1971, a trip recorded in her 1973 book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. A circular brass plaque on the building that now stands on the shop's former site acknowledges the story.
The plaque whose unveiling is mentioned by Hanff in "Q's Legacy" is still attached to the lefthand pillar of the building.
adapted 84 Charing Cross Road for the BBC's Play for Today
, a television anthology series. Starring Frank Finlay
and Anne Jackson
, it was first broadcast on 4 November 1975.
In 1981, James Roose-Evans
adapted it for the stage in a two-character version first produced at the Salisbury Playhouse. With Rosemary Leach
and David Swift, it transferred to the West End
, where it opened to universally ecstatic reviews.
After fifteen previews, the Broadway
production opened on 7 December 1982 at the Nederlander Theatre
with Ellen Burstyn
and Joseph Maher
. Due perhaps in part to a mediocre review by Frank Rich
in the New York Times, it ran for just 96 performances.
Whitemore returned to the project to write the screenplay
for the 1987 film adaptation
starring Anne Bancroft
and Anthony Hopkins
. The dramatis personae were expanded to include Hanff's Manhattan
friends, the bookshop staff, and Doel's wife Nora, played by Judi Dench
. Bancroft won a BAFTA Award as Best Actress; Whitemore and Dench were nominated for direction and supporting performance.
Roose-Evans adapted the play again for a 2007 radio production starring Gillian Anderson
and Denis Lawson
, broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC Radio 4
. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/29/bbc.radio?gusrc=rss&feed=media
Helene Hanff
Helene Hanff 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, , and film of the same name.- Career :...
, later made into a stage play, television play and film
84 Charing Cross Road (film)
84 Charing Cross Road is a 1987 British/American drama film directed by David Hugh Jones. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore is based on a play by James Roose-Evans, which itself was an adaptation of the 1970 epistolary memoir of the same name by Helene Hanff, a compilation of letters between herself...
, about the twenty-year correspondence between her and Frank Doel
Frank Doel
Frank Percy Doel was an antiquarian bookseller for Marks & Co in London, England, who achieved posthumous fame as the recipient of a series of humorous letters from the American author Helene Hanff; to which he scrupulously, and at first very formally, replied...
, chief buyer of Marks & Co
Marks & Co
Marks & Co, also incorrectly referred to as "Marks & Company" or colloquially as "84", was a well-known antiquarian bookseller located at Cambridge Circus - 84, Charing Cross Road, London....
, antiquarian booksellers located at the eponymous address in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Hanff, in search of obscure classics and British literature titles she had been unable to find in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, noticed an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature and first contacted the shop in 1949, and it fell to Doel to fulfill her requests. In time, a long-distance friendship evolved, not only between the two, but between Hanff and other staff members as well, with an exchange of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
packages, birthday gifts, and food parcels to compensate for post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
food shortages in England. Their letters included discussions about topics as diverse as the sermons of John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
, how to make Yorkshire Pudding
Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire Pudding is a dish that originated in Yorkshire, England. It is made from batter and usually served with roast meat and gravy.-History:...
, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the coronation of Elizabeth II.
Hanff postponed visiting her English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
friends until too late; Doel died in December 1968 from peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
from a burst appendix
Vermiform appendix
The appendix is a blind-ended tube connected to the cecum , from which it develops embryologically. The cecum is a pouchlike structure of the colon...
, and the bookshop eventually closed. Hanff did finally visit Charing Cross Road
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 and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
and the empty but still standing shop in the summer of 1971, a trip recorded in her 1973 book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. A circular brass plaque on the building that now stands on the shop's former site acknowledges the story.
The building's site today
84 Charing Cross Road still stands, although the shop's former space has been taken up by a restaurant called Med Kitchen. Charing Cross Road addresses run from south to north. Number 82 is a modern building. The building next door to it (Med Kitchen) has the address of 24 Cambridge Circus. Number 84 was the first shop site fully facing Charing Cross Road north of Cambridge Circus.The plaque whose unveiling is mentioned by Hanff in "Q's Legacy" is still attached to the lefthand pillar of the building.
Adaptations
Hugh WhitemoreHugh Whitemore
Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter.Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he is now a Member of the Council. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works by Charles...
adapted 84 Charing Cross Road for the BBC's Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, a television anthology series. Starring Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
and Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson is an American actress of television, stage, and screen.-Life and career:Jackson, the youngest of three sisters, was born in Millvale, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Stella Germaine and John Ivan Jackson, a barber who ran a beauty parlor...
, it was first broadcast on 4 November 1975.
In 1981, James Roose-Evans
James Roose-Evans
James Roose-Evans is a British theatre director, script-writer, priest and writer on experimental theatre, gesture, ritual and meditation. In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club, in London; and in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for creativity and spirituality, in Powys.-Biography:James...
adapted it for the stage in a two-character version first produced at the Salisbury Playhouse. With Rosemary Leach
Rosemary Leach
Rosemary Leach is a British stage, television and film actress.She was born at Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her parents were teachers related to Edmund Leach. She attended grammar school and RADA...
and David Swift, it transferred to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, where it opened to universally ecstatic reviews.
After fifteen previews, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production opened on 7 December 1982 at the Nederlander Theatre
Nederlander Theatre
David T. Nederlander Theatre is a 1,232-seat Broadway theatre located at 208 West 41st Street, in New York City . One of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theatres, the legacy of the theatre began with David Tobias Nederlander, for whom the theatre is named.Built by Walter C...
with Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
and Joseph Maher
Joseph Maher
Joseph Maher was an Irish character actor who appeared in 43 films and was nominated for three Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award for his supporting roles on the stage.-Career:...
. Due perhaps in part to a mediocre review by Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
in the New York Times, it ran for just 96 performances.
Whitemore returned to the project to write the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for the 1987 film adaptation
84 Charing Cross Road (film)
84 Charing Cross Road is a 1987 British/American drama film directed by David Hugh Jones. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore is based on a play by James Roose-Evans, which itself was an adaptation of the 1970 epistolary memoir of the same name by Helene Hanff, a compilation of letters between herself...
starring Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
and Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
. The dramatis personae were expanded to include Hanff's Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
friends, the bookshop staff, and Doel's wife Nora, played by Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
. Bancroft won a BAFTA Award as Best Actress; Whitemore and Dench were nominated for direction and supporting performance.
Roose-Evans adapted the play again for a 2007 radio production starring Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
and Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
, broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/29/bbc.radio?gusrc=rss&feed=media