Uploaded March 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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This Anglo-American gem, first published in 1970 and still in print after multiple editions, collects the letters exchanged between a funny, feisty New York reader and her bemused British booksellers in the dreary years after the War.

From her initial overture and its stuffy response to their subsequent exchanges and developing affection, in which the entire staff of Marks & Co. became engaged, this lovely little book reasserts the joys and rewards of letter-writing: a lamentably lost art, if ever there were one.

Helene Hanff never did meet her beloved booksellers, nor they her; but in the magical years of their correspondence, which disseminated warmth and embraced entire families, friendships were forged of such delight that one is crushed by the inevitable conclusion.

A timeless stocking-stuffer and cheerer-upper for all those so inclined.

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