The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff: #ABookADayInMay – Day 27

Today’s book is a re-read. I recently re-read 84, Charing Cross Road for my book group, and I’ve read it umpteen times over the years – as well as seeing the stage play, the film etc. But I haven’t re-read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Group (1973) since I first read it many years ago. Hanff’s name had been made, at least to an extent, by the publication of 84, Charing Cross Road three years earlier. In that collection of letters between Hanff and Frank Doel, a bookseller in London, Hanff always promises that she will come and visit her beloved London – but she never manages it during Frank’s lifetime. I got the feeling she never fully intended to – but The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street proves me wrong, because she takes advantage of a significant cheque and some press opportunities to come to London – with no real view to a return date. She won’t let a little thing like recovering from an operation stand in her way. The night before I left, two friends gave me a farewell party. I’d spent…