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#1
84 Charing Cross Street, the book is known as the Bible of The Book Lover.
Presumably, the person who really loves books must love like Helene Hanf, and through books, find the same kind of people who have faith like you.
To be honest, it's exaggerated.
However, I must say that this is a book that I really like and gives me a very good reading experience: it is easy and humorous to read, the content is simple and rich, and the emotions are trivial and long.
Moreover, it reminds me of the times when I bought beautiful stationery and books for everyday texts.
#2
About the contents of this book
"Twenty years of fate and shame, thousands of miles apart."
On October 5, 1949, Helene Hanf saw an advertisement for "exclusive out-of-print books" published by Marx and Cohen's Bookstore in the Saturday Literary Review (a literary weekly) and wrote a letter to a bookstore far away, requesting that no more than five dollars each be provided according to the list of accompanying letters.
Frank Del replied to Hanf's first letter on behalf of the bookstore (I was a little angry that many of the introductions described Frank Del as a bookseller. Frank, a literate part-time worker at the Marx and Cohen Bookstore, has been working in the bookstore for more than 40 years. Of course, it is undeniable that the communication between Del and Hanf is more profound than others. ）。
In the next 20 years, they exchanged letters and exchanged with each other.
On December 22, 1968, Frank Del passed away. In 1970, with the consent of del's family, Helen Hanf published excerpts from 20 years of letters, which were immediately regarded as classics by book lovers and became a signal among book lovers around the world.
For 20 years, a long and light booklet, this thin pamphlet integrated by letters, each letter no more than 800 words, records the list of books that Hanf likes, why he likes it, frank's family and other bookstore colleagues are in short supply, Hanf's generous donations, and other trivialities.
However, it is these trifles that make several characters with distinct personalities soak between the lines, become the history of small people who are related by books, and dissolve into the turbulent history of the 20th century.
#3
About Charing Cross Street
Charing Cross Road, while it does run through several "intersections," is not about the "crossroads." The road name is derived from the Charing Cross. At the end of the thirteenth century, Edward of England (1239-1307, reigned 1272-1307) erected twelve stone crosses along his funeral procession (from Nottingham to Westminster Abbey) in memory of his beloved wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile (1246-1290). In 1865, architect Edward Middleton Barry copied one of them and stood in the vestibule of the newly opened Railway Terminal in South East England (now Charing Cross Street Station) the previous year. Because of the traffic convergence, Charing Cross became the center of development of modern London.
As early as the eighteenth century, Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) predicted: "The tide of human life is in the Charing Cross." Charing Cross Street (a short stretch of St. Martin Street at the front and Todenham Road from Oxford Street) extends north from Charing Cross Station, with a series of bookstores and publishing houses along the way; together with the neighbouring Covent Garden Theatre District, the famous Soho District, and the restaurant-lined Chinatown, it has long been an important cultural and entertainment town for Londoners. Although there are still many new and used bookstores located here, due to the gradual drying up of the source of old books and the large-scale entry of bookstore chains, the old book industry on Charing Cross Street has been greatly depressed in recent years, and the glory of that year has gradually disappeared. However, it is still the first place for people to go to London to shop for books.
The Max & Cohen Bookstore first opened on Old Compton Street, moved to 108 and 106 Charing Cross Street, and then moved to 84 Charing Cross Street in 1930. In addition to the general antique books, Max and Coase's bookstore had a rich collection of Dickens-related books, which no other bookstore could match at the time. In 1977, the bookstore closed due to the death of its owners. Its storefront was later taken over by the "Covent Garden Records". Now, there is a bronze coin plaque outside the entrance of the store, which reads: "84 Charing Cross Street, the original site of the Max and Coase Bookstore, which is famous for Herrene Hanf's books." ”
Countless book lovers have remembered the brilliant time on Charing Cross Street because of Hanf's book. To this day, many readers from all over the world come to London every year, stepping on this street and standing in front of a bookstore that has long ceased to exist, in recognition of this twenty-year-long, transatlantic friendship. There's even a second-hand bookstore in Munissing, Michigan, named "84 Charing Cross Street, huh?" " （84 Charing Cross Road，EH？ ) 。 There is also a memorial website on the Internet called "Revisiting 84 Charing Cross Street" (www.84charingcrossroad.co.uk).
#4
About Helene Hanf and Frank Del
The author, Helene Hanff, was born in Philadelphia on April 15, 1916. Most of the years were spent in Manhattan, a lifetime of turmoil. Helene Hanf worked most during her lifetime as a script reviewer for a troupe, and wrote scripts for several television series. His major books include Apple of My Eye (1977), a semibiographical tour of New York City (1987), the semibiographical Underfoot in Show Business (1980), the biography Q's Legacy (1985), Letter From New York (1992), and a series of American history books aimed at teenagers.
In this book, Helene Hanf confesses that she is "as fashionable as a beggar on Broadway", in fact, she has the free appearance of touching the back of the book with one hand with a cigarette in the other, touching the book she likes is like touching the skin of a loved one, seeing the exquisite and unique Stevenson collection makes her "feel comfortable in her heart", and seeing those deceptive books will make her scream and scold. She made no secret of her true temperament, laughing and scolding, which must have made the old-fashioned Frank Del can't help but be amused.
By the time of Hanf and Frank Delton's first letter, Frank was married, and his wife and two daughters had written to Humphre. Hanf's lover died in World War II and has remained unmarried ever since. The two have very different personalities, Frank is elegant and old-fashioned, modest and kind, and careful in doing things; Hanf is obedient in temperament, but warm and generous, and loves books. It is hard to imagine that a man and a woman have been freely communicating for 20 years without being ambiguous.
In the letter, Hanf mentioned more than once that when he had saved enough money for the road, he must fly to London. However, while Frank was alive, he did not go after all.
It can also be seen that Hanf and Frank are not proof of love.
Knowing this, it is still: it is better to see each other than to miss each other.
On June 17, 1971, at the invitation of a British publisher, Humph finally flew to London.
Frank, on the other hand, couldn't wait for her at the Charing Cross Street Bookstore.
On April 9, 1997, Helene Hanf died of pneumonia in New York City.
#5
About the rationing system in Britain during World War II
Regarding rationing, people before the 80s should not be unfamiliar. People who have watched this year's hit movie "Hello, Li Huanying", have they noticed that plot, Jia Ling accompanied Li Huanying to buy a TV set, is it a TV ticket?
The implementation of the rationing system in the era of material shortage was not only in socialist China, but also in Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union at certain times.
In 84 Charing Cross Street, this history is mentioned in several places.
"This is a cute shop that jumped out of Dickens's book alive, and if you let you see it, it is strange not to love death."
……
Three meals is not a problem, we all eat in restaurants or hotels, such as the most exclusive Claritz Hotel can fully serve goulash, grilled ribs. Although the price is ridiculously expensive, it is quite cost-effective to convert into US dollars, so we can afford to eat. If I were An Englishman, I would have itched my teeth at the sight of this situation. But they were so nice to us that people invited us to visit our homes or restaurants.
The only thing that is in short supply is sugar, and everything that is sweet is scarce. ”
This is a letter written to Hanf by Helene Hanf's friend Maxing on September 10, 1951, during her performance in the UK.
I just talked to your mom. She said your play might end next month, and she told me you had taken two dozen stockings. Do me a favor and take four pairs to the bookstore before your play is over, and give them to Frank Del, saying that they are for the three girls in the store and Nora (his wife).
His mother also made a special explanation that she wanted me not to pay you. She said the stockings she had bought cheaply last summer when the saxophones were cleared, and she decided to give them up so that she could get herself in the light of 'going to the country together'. ”
This is a letter from Helene Hanf to Maxine, who performed in the Uk on 9 February 1952.
There are many more descriptions of the period of material shortage in the book.
From the letter, it appears that the British have been bullied. As Helene Hanf wrote in her april 16, 1951 letter:
"Across the ocean, I send you my best wishes from afar at this end of the United States — 'America,' a 'staunch ally.'" When she spent thousands of dollars to help Japan and Germany 'recover' from defeat, she watched the British compatriots suffer from hunger! As the Emperor testifies, one day I will personally go to England and apologize to you for her face to face. ”
In fact, it is true that the British Empire is gradually declining, and under the framework of the Atlantic Charter, the colonies are gradually becoming independent one by one.
Since 1941, britain has been mortgaged to the United States. It was clear that the loss of economic independence made the British government no longer as free to determine the future of the British Empire as it had before.
World War II depleted Britain's reserves, losing 2/3 of its pre-war foreign trade and 1/4 of its inventory wealth. In December 1945, Britain borrowed $37.5 billion from the United States at an interest rate of 2%. Post-war debt pressures were enormous. Continued shortages of raw materials and basic food supplies led to a serious imbalance in trade with North America due to a lack of dollars, and rationing of food, clothing, gasoline and many household goods continued until 1954.
In the 1945 general election, the Labour Party won. Its campaign platform, Let's Face the Future, paints a grand picture of a social and economic revolution, with welfare and education being the responsibility of wealthy governments and economic revival achieved through the integration of state ownership, Whitehall management, and private enterprise. During the Labour government from 1945 to 1951, domestic parties developed a new consensus: a democratic and welfare state based on a mixed economy. This consensus, which enabled Britain to make a difficult post-war transition, essentially perpetuated for a generation or more, until the late 1970s.
During the Attlee government, major industries and institutions were publicly owned, including coal, rail, road transport, civil aviation, natural gas, electricity, cable and wireless broadcasting, and even the Bank of England. Overall, 20% of UK industry is included in the "public sector".
Later legends proved that, in some ways, it was indeed an era of economic austerity and widespread depression.
Still, the majority of the working class, who make up the vast majority of the population, believe that the years since 1945 were the best since the late Victorian era at its height. Living standards have improved, the environment and educational facilities have become more satisfactory, higher wages and shorter working hours have given the working class the freedom of choice to engage in leisure activities such as football, movies, dancing, and even flying to the sunny Mediterranean coast to live in bars, clubs and other places. A decline in the birth rate means smaller and richer families. Houses were better decorated, more and more families owned cars, and television became popular throughout the country after 1950.
These are also mentioned in this book.
In a letter dated August 26, 1952, Frank Del wrote to Humph:
"It's the first time I've bought a car, so the whole family is very excited – even though it's an old 1939 model, as long as it doesn't break down halfway, we should be smiling."
Frank's wife, Nora, wrote to Humph on August 24, 1952, about her mood:
"By the way, Helene, this week we are finally in the car class. Although not a new car, there is nothing to brag about everywhere. However, as long as the car can run, you say no? ”
Although on the surface the Anglo-American alliance seems unbreakable, the book reflects a profound truth through the lines:
There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.
Ironically, this quote comes from the nineteenth-century British Prime Minister Palmerston:
“A country does not have permanent friends, only permanent interests。 ”
A century later, Britain has been completely reduced to the "little lamb" of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the arrogant Churchill had to sigh once again: "There is no eternal friend between countries, only eternal interests!" ”
In January 1950, Britain took the lead in recognizing the People's Republic of China and was willing to establish diplomatic relations on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territorial sovereignty.
Does this reflect some kind of historical connection?
Main bibliography:
84 Charing Cross Street by Helen Hanfu by Chen Jianming translated by Yilin Publishing House
Oxford History of Britain, Kenneth B. O. Morgan by Fang Guangrong translated by People's Daily Publishing House
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire by Lawrence James, translated by Zhang Ziyue and Xie Yongchun, China Friendship Publishing Company