Introduction & Overview of 84, Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff
This Study Guide consists of approximately 50 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of 84, Charing Cross Road.

Introduction & Overview of 84, Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff
This Study Guide consists of approximately 50 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of 84, Charing Cross Road.
This section contains 232 words
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)
Buy the 84, Charing Cross Road Study Guide

84, Charing Cross Road Summary & Study Guide Description

84, Charing Cross Road Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Bibliography and a Free Quiz on 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff.

84, Charing Cross Road, published in 1970, is constructed from a collection of correspondence between the author and a London bookseller, Frank Doel. The relationship began as Hanff delved into the work of a professor at Cambridge University. Professor "Q," as he is called, became the catalyst for Hanff's letter writing. Her admiration for the professor fueled her pursuit of classic literature, resulting in the inquiries comprising this work. 84, Charing Cross Road spans a twenty-year period, incidentally chronicling events abroad, such as Winston Churchill's 1951 election in London and the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 1960.

This story thematically touches on the ideas of lack and sufficiency, whether it be Helene's bibliomania (obsession for books) or a black-market trade of eggs for a pair of pantyhose in London. It is a story of beginnings and endings as represented by each letter, from date to signature. The power of language figures prominently, presenting the challenge of inference in the white space of the text as Helene waits breathlessly for her next letter to arrive. Finally, it is a story of appearances for exactly the same reason: the only information the reader has is based on a series of letters, hardly the means by which one can accurately infer much about the characters. Despite what seem to be shortcomings, the appeal of this mysterious plot is what serves to entice and delight the reader's imagination.

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This section contains 232 words
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)
Buy the 84, Charing Cross Road Study Guide
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84, Charing Cross Road from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.