Q’s Legacy
By Helene Hanff
Published 1985
Read Jan 2026
Q’s Legacy is a memoir by Helene Hanff which she wrote after her book, 84 Charing Cross Road became a major success.
The reader gets to know why 84 Charing Cross Road exists. She describes her fleeting experience in college and her lucky acquisition of a job at a bookstore that provided her with a lot of time to read. She decided to get her own English literature degree so seeks out a professor who had published appropriate book(s) about it. She started looking alphabetically and found no one to her liking until she reached volumes of lectures by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, a don at Cambridge. As she was literally living “hand to mouth” then (and for most of her life), she begins by obtaining books he recommended through her library but decided owning them would allow more time to completely digest them. She couldn’t find used copies she was willing to buy in New York City and chances upon an advertisement for Marks and Co Bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. She writes to them with a list of books and strict budget. Thus begins the relationship between Helene and Frank Doel, buyer for the bookstore.
She describes the ups and downs of her writing career. She made good money when writing for live TV that was produced in New York City and that enabled her to move into a larger apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom. That gig dried up when TV moved to Hollywood and she didn’t follow it. She tried writing plays, none of which went anywhere. She wrote history books for children until that gig dried up as well. Throughout this time a publisher named Genevieve (Gene) believed in her and encouraged her to try to publish 84 Charing Cross Road as a book vs a magazine article which she was writing. Unfortunately for Gene, her company did not buy the book which became a cult classic.
Much of Q’s Legacy tells of the aftermath of 84 Charing Cross Road. Readers pummeled her with requests to sign her book and send it to a loved one (as she bore the shipping costs, this was a reason she didn’t really make much of any money on the book royalties). The BBC made a TV series of it; she was invited to watch rehearsals and the taping which she describes. James Roose-Evans adapted the book to the stage which was a triumph in the UK although not the US. (Her generosity for sending food stuff to the bookstore during times of dramatic rationing was renowned in the UK. The US suffered nothing similar.) The book was written before the successful movie adaptation was made.
Some of the book describes her trip to the UK when she went for the opening of the play. The diary part of the book dragged a bit for this reader but generally her discussion of this trip still captures her eye for detail and her wittiness.
This is a book lovers of 84 Charing Cross Road will greatly enjoy. Readers get to know Helen Hanff, which is an absolute treat.
MarshaReads.com 