{"product_id":"the-duchess-of-bloomsbury-street-9780062442185","title":"The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A charmer. Will beguile an hour of your time and put you in touch with mankind.\" --\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNewly reissued with an introduction by Plum Sykes, this cult favorite is a delightful diary--think Nancy Mitford\u003c\/strong\u003e-\u003cstrong\u003emeets\u003c\/strong\u003e-\u003cstrong\u003eNora Ephron--chronicling author Helene Hanff's \"bucket list\" trip to London (at the age of fifty-five!) after the unexpected success of her memoir \u003cem\u003e84 Charing Cross Road.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen she's invited to London for the English publication of her wildly successful book, \u003cem\u003e84 Charing Cross Road\u003c\/em\u003e--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 can't help wishing Frank was still alive, but she's determined to capture every moment of the journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHelene's time in London exceeds her wildest expectations. She visits landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle; explores Shakespeare's favorite pub, Dickens's 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 Harrod's, and share with her their favorite corners of countryside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA love letter to England and its literary heritage, written by a Manhattanite who isn't afraid to speak her mind (or tell a British barman how to make a real American martini), \u003cem\u003eThe Duchess of Bloomsbury Street \u003c\/em\u003eis an endearing account of two wildly different worlds colliding; it's an outsider's witty, vibrant portrait of idiosyncratic British culture at its best, as well as a profound commentary about the written word's power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHanff, Helene:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eBorn in Philadelphia in 1916, Helene Hanffspent much of her life as a struggling screenwriter in New York City. But it was her 1970 memoir, \u003cem\u003e84, Charing Cross Road\u003c\/em\u003e, that propelled her to fame and made possible the trip to London that inspired \u003cem\u003eThe Duchess of Bloomsbury Street\u003c\/em\u003e. She never married, and died in New York in 1997.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50615066919186,"sku":"9780062442185","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_401be3d4-62c8-417d-a047-83b50b1e408d.jpg?v=1732474636","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-duchess-of-bloomsbury-street-9780062442185","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}