The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

ISBN: 006244218X

Author: Hanff, Helene

Condition: New

A charmer. Will beguile an hour of your time and put you in touch with mankind. -New York TimesNewly reissued with an introduction by Plum Sykes, this cult favorite is a delightful diary-think Nancy Mitford-meets-Nora Ephron-chronicling author Helene Hanffs bucket list trip to London (at the age of fifty-five!) after the unexpected success of her memoir 84 Charing Cross Road.When shes invited to London for the English publication of her wildly successful book, 84 Charing Cross Road-in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend-New York writer Helene Hanff is thrilled to realize a lifelong dream. The trip will be bittersweet, because she cant help wishing Frank was still alive, but shes determined to capture every moment of the journey.Helenes time in London exceeds her wildest expectations. She visits landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle; explores Shakespeares favorite pub, Dickenss house, and the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to walk; and makes a host of new friends from all walks of life, who take her to the theater, introduce her to institutions like Harrods, and share with her their favorite corners of countryside.A love letter to England and its literary heritage, written by a Manhattanite who isnt afraid to speak her mind (or tell a British barman how to make a real American martini), The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is an endearing account of two wildly different worlds colliding; its an outsiders witty, vibrant portrait of idiosyncratic British culture at its best, as well as a profound commentary about the written words power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.