I'll confess; I have never read the book or the play 84 Charing Cross Road. Last evening Ken and I watched for the second time the film starring Ann Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins (and let's not forget Judi Dench), which was produced in 1987, and which we loved the first time in the 1990s in our Massachusetts home.
Did you know that Mel Brooks produced this film? I certainly didn't until this evening, when I went scouring the Web for info. Brooks seems like the least likely person to gravitate toward producing this sort of movie, BUT he was a New Yorker and Jewish, like Helene Hanff, though neither were at all religious, and both were incredibly irreverent and feisty, so I can imagine them meeting and getting along splendidly. (Of course I don't know this.)
How I would love to have a relationship with an English or Scottish bookseller--that's my thought for tonight. Oh, sigh!
And to realize how transformed the purchasing of used, rare, and antiquated books has become! Now you go to Abe Books and proceed. However, I am certain there are book collectors with very, very deep pockets who have personal relationships with booksellers far afield from their homes. Well, I know they do. I occasionally read the magazine Fine Books and Collections. But that kind of collecting is only for the very, very rich today, as so many things are.
We have lost so much, yet Helene Hanff was never able to have a blog and thereby an international group of fellow readers who shared the books she enjoyed most. Wouldn't she have loved that? Would that have compensated her for the lack of a special bookseller? I think so, in a way. But why can't we have both, in the best of all possible worlds? She only had her favorite London bookseller to share her thoughts with, and a few English friends in NYC.
I started reading The Annotated Frankenstein today. And I must have a thriller, a downright page turner if I am ever to morph back into being a voracious reader again. So, after a lengthy search, I am starting The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine.
Novellas in November 2024 #NovNov #NovNov24
4 hours ago
Oh, I love 84 Charing Cross Road, the book and the movie. Both are very special. Now I feel like reading it again, although I don't have a copy as the one I read was from the library. I loved the section at the end where she came to London to meet her bookseller friend... or was that a second book? I don't remember now. Whatever, I do have the movie so perhaps I'll watch it with my grand-daughter who is staying at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHow are your eyes now?
Hi Cath,
DeleteMy eyes are much better, thanks. I can now read very well and am making up for lost time. The weather has been cooperating by being overcast, very humid, and a bit rainy. It has affected our tourist trade here, as this is the second week of rain here and rain there, without days of sunshine at all.
I absolutely MUST read the book, and soon. I don't want to ruin the movie for you, so I won't share the end of the film. Well worth the fun to watch it again.
How wonderful to have your grand-daughter with you for a time. I hope your garden is doing well???
I read the book and watched the movie within the same week (movie first). I liked the movie a lot (sad at end) but, I really appreciated the story and book more. I did not know about the Mel Brooks as producer.
ReplyDeleteDiane,
DeleteI think my first reply to you got lost. Do check out Katrina's comment below, and my reply. Had no idea!
I think you'll love the book if you get around to reading it. I've recently read her second book Q's Legacy and that is good too. Mel Brooks was of course married to Ann Bancroft.
ReplyDeleteOh, Katrina, you astound me sometimes. I just discovered they were married from 1964 until Bancroft's death in 2005. Whew!
DeleteDid she, by any chance, appear in any of his films? I have given Mel Brooks's films a wide berth over the years, and I may have missed that.
Thank you so much for setting the record straight!!
Oh, and Katrina, I will definitely get a hold of the BOOK! Thanks.
DeleteThey seem to have worked together in his Silent Movie, To Be or Not to Be and The Elephant Man. Brook's was/is quite an intellectual I think, he just works hard to hide it. They shared a good but unusual sense of humour I think. I remember them both being interviewed separately by Michael Parkinson - so funny. Blazing Saddles is silly but hilarious and you should watch The Producers if you can. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you!
DeleteI have not read or watched 84 Charing Cross Road. I do plan to read Frankenstein sometime... from my classics list.
ReplyDeleteTracy,
DeleteI do think you will get a huge kick out of Frankenstein, based on your past reading. Given your interests, it should be right up your alley as far as a classic novel is concerned.
And, if you have ever been interested in seeking out out-of-print books or have frequented used bookstores, you will enjoy 84 Charing Cross Road. It's a human interest story, too, of people caring for each other and thinking about each other, with an ocean separating them.
When we watched it last week, we got it streaming on Amazon for $3.99, even though we are Prime members. But it was worth it.
Happy reading, and how is your weather, and are you threatened by all the wildfires??
I will look into 84 Charing Cross Road, Judith. I have spent a lot of my life poring over books in used book stores, so I don't know why I haven't sought out the book or the movie.
DeleteOur weather here is very hot, which used to be unusual even in summer, but is getting to be more and more likely. We are not currently threatened by the wildfires, and thanks for asking.
About a month ago we were close enough to the Holiday Fire to feel threatened and worried about having to evacuate. But it was over fairly quickly, thank goodness. Back in December the Thomas Fire kept us pretty much housebound (well, the college I work at shut down for about two weeks, my husband's place of business mostly kept going) and it was a worse experience for many others. But we are not close to any of the ongoing fires. I have so much sympathy for those near to the latest big, destructive fire near Redding. It is all very scary.
Tracy,
DeleteI found what I believed was your "lost" post by using another browser. I'm so glad to have caught up with it.
I, too, have enormous sympathy for the trauma for some and the relentless stress for others with these wildfires. Once again, I'm sorry that you and so many people must have this crisis so constantly on your minds.
Good, glad you found it. It is sad but it is often on our minds, whenever the temperatures rise and there are high winds. I have a former co-worker who had to evacuate for both the fire and mudslides in December / January and then she moved up to Tahoe recently, which at least puts her in the vicinity of the smoke and ashes from the large fire in northern California. So it has been a really bad year for her.
DeleteAnd, for you and for her, it's the never knowing what's around the corner that must be exhausting to live with.
DeleteIt's such a wonderful story, isn't it? One of my all-time-favourites, good for reviewing and rereading in any mood!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, without fail, I must get a hold of the original. I've only seen the movie (twice)!
Delete