The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Nancy Mitford meets Nora Ephron in the pages of The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanffs delightful travelogue about her bucket list trip to LondonWhen devoted Anglophile Helene Hanff is invited to London for the English publication of 84, Charing Cross Roadin which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friendshe can hardly believe her luck. Frank is no longer alive, but his widow and daughter, along with enthusiastic British fans from all walks of life, embrace Helene as an honored guest. Eager hosts, including a famous actress and a retired colonel, sweep her up in a whirlwind of plays and dinners, trips to Harrods, and wild jaunts to their favorite corners of the countryside. A New Yorker who isnt afraid to speak her mind, Helene Hanff delivers an outsiders funny yet fabulous portrait of idiosyncratic Britain at its best. And whether she is walking across the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to tread, visiting Windsor Castle, or telling a British barman how to make a real American martini, Helene always wears her heart on her sleeve. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is not only a witty account of two different worlds colliding but also a love letter to England and its literary heritageand a celebration of the written words power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.