Customer Reviews

Q's Legacy

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When Helene Hanff runs out of money and has to leave college, she takes her education into her own hands. In the public library she searches for books on English literature "the Best -- written in language I could understand." Beginning with the A's, taking down one volume after another, she works her way through the alphabet, arriving at the M's without finding what she wants.

Most of the books were of 19th and 20th century writers and she wanted the great works of England: Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, the Bible, etc.

"I went on through the N's, O's and P's," she writes, "fighting a suspicion that what I wanted didn't exist. There was only one book under Q."

And what a book. ON THE ART OF WRITING by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, M.A., King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge. Impressed with his credentials and the simplicity and clarity of his writing, she decides she can study with "Q," as she calls him, "without necessarily agreeing with everything he said." So she takes him home.

"In the first chapter," she writes, "he threw so many marvelous quotes at me...from Walton's ANGLER and Newman's IDEA OF THE UNIVERSITY and Milton's PARADISE LOST -- that I rushed back to the library and brought home all three, determined to read them before going on to Q's second lecture." And so it went. From PARADISE LOST to the New Testament to . . . ad infinitum.

Life and reality (the need to find a job) intrude; she gets involved in community theater, becomes publicity agent (sort of) for the Theater Guild of New York, works as a reader for the New York Story Department of Paramount Pictures, all the while reading her way through Q's list of classical English literature. Then, one morning, she sees an obituary in the Times: "Quiller-Couch dies at age 80."

She feels as though she's lost a friend. "I felt suddenly lost with Q gone. Till I looked at the books of his lectures ranged on the top bookshelf and thought, 'He's not gone, you nut, you have him in the house.'" So she sets out to buy the books he taught her to love.

Enter the Out-of-Print books column of the Saturday Review, where she finds an ad: "Marks & Co., Antiquarian Booksellers, 84 Charing Cross Road, London." She writes for books and thus begins the correspondence that will quicken her romantic imagination, break her heart, and make Hanff a celebrated writer in 30 years.

In Q's LEGACY, Hanff tells about writing the book, the play and the television production. She describes the trip to England that takes her to Q's study. There's a lot here about her fan mail and her fans, as well. It's a portrait of a bright and persistant woman in pursuit of knowledge and culture, a dance with destiny, and a fascinating picture of the rewards (and problems) of success.

Best of all, it's written in an easy, natural style. It's a love letter to life, books, learning and bibliphiles.

What an upbeat book!
This is the romance of life's unpredictability; of life's path. Helene Hanff the author and our heroine in this autobiography is a person we can all identify with: with a high school education, a survivor's tenacity, a bright mind and a bit of luck she turns what could have been a mediocre existence into an exciting if quietly successful life! One could not have a more prototypical American dream. But here, it appears represented without the scrubbed clean, sanitized methods of Holywood.
Her wonderfully charming narration, leads us through her struggles as a writer in New York, through the apparent lucky accident of her book "84, Charring Cross Road," and the mesmerizing consequences that a successful book brings to her life. It is her persona though, who is fascinating: a strong woman with few doubts about likes and dislikes, who fights doggedly for a living, with a good sense of humor, generosity towards others and an apparent humility. What a combination! But to top it off she is sharp, quick, loves books and what they can teach her.
This is a book to be read in one sitting, but only after you read "84 Charring Cross Road." It is fun, upbeat, a charmer and it also has an almost oldfashioned value: it celebrates life!

My journey to this book took a few twists. My friend Sadie introduced me to the movie 84, Charing Cross Road in honor of Anne Bancroft. From there I knew I had to find out more about the real Helene Hanff and a mad google search ensued.

I came across a list of some of her works and set out to find the book all about her correspondence with Frank Doel who worked in the bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road and with whom she exchanged letters for almost 30 years. My library's copy of 84, Charing Cross Road was checked out and our local bookstore was sold out. So, I hopped online at Amazon and discovered Q's Legacy - a wonderful book all about her "homeschool" with Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) - of Cambridge no less! "Q" became Helene's "teacher" across the miles and the years and having never met each other. Helene stumbled across him in the library one afternoon and through his work On the Art of Writing (a collection of his lectures published in 1916), he showed her how to read the classics - lessons which would continue the rest of her life.

I found out that Helene (as I've come to feel that we are on a first name basis now) and I have much in common,if you over look the little part about her being dead: we both lean toward non-fiction, we're both aspiring writers (okay, she a moderately successful one, but she toiled for years on just a dream), we both love books but we're both too broke to be able to splurge the way we'd love to. We must make our selections carefully.

Almost with every turn of the page in Q's Legacy I'm jotting down the title of a new book to read, or an old book to re-read with new perspective. And, I'm keeping my eyes out for the works of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. A new legacy has been born. Thank you, Q. And thank you, H.

When Helene Hanff runs out of money and has to leave college, she takes her education into her own hands. In the public library she searches for books on English literature "the Best -- written in language I could understand." Beginning with the A's, taking down one volume after another, she works her way through the alphabet, arriving at the M's without finding what she wants.

Most of the books were of 19th and 20th century writers and she wanted the great works of England: Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, the Bible, etc.

"I went on through the N's, O's and P's," she writes, "fighting a suspicion that what I wanted didn't exist. There was only one book under Q."

And what a book. ON THE ART OF WRITING by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, M.A., King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge. Impressed with his credentials and the simplicity and clarity of his writing, she decides she can study with "Q," as she calls him, "without necessarily agreeing with everything he said." So she takes him home.

"In the first chapter," she writes, "he threw so many marvelous quotes at me...from Walton's ANGLER and Newman's IDEA OF THE UNIVERSITY and Milton's PARADISE LOST -- that I rushed back to the library and brought home all three, determined to read them before going on to Q's second lecture." And so it went. From PARADISE LOST to the New Testament to . . . ad infinitum.

Life and reality (the need to find a job) intrude; she gets involved in community theater, becomes publicity agent (sort of) for the Theater Guild of New York, works as a reader for the New York Story Department of Paramount Pictures, all the while reading her way through Q's list of classical English literature. Then, one morning, she sees an obituary in the Times: "Quiller-Couch dies at age 80."

She feels as though she's lost a friend. "I felt suddenly lost with Q gone. Till I looked at the books of his lectures ranged on the top bookshelf and thought, 'He's not gone, you nut, you have him in the house.'" So she sets out to buy the books he taught her to love.

Enter the Out-of-Print books column of the Saturday Review, where she finds an ad: "Marks & Co., Antiquarian Booksellers, 84 Charing Cross Road, London." She writes for books and thus begins the correspondence that will quicken her romantic imagination, break her heart, and make Hanff a celebrated writer in 30 years.

In Q's LEGACY, Hanff tells about writing the book, the play and the television production. She describes the trip to England that takes her to Q's study. There's a lot here about her fan mail and her fans, as well. It's a portrait of a bright and persistant woman in pursuit of knowledge and culture, a dance with destiny, and a fascinating picture of the rewards (and problems) of success.

Best of all, it's written in an easy, natural style. It's a love letter to life, books, learning and bibliophiles.

I couldn't put this book down! I read it straight through in one sitting. I didn't even put it down when I went to the kitchen for a drink, etc. Unlike most autobiographies, this one is written out of a love of writing rather than out of love of self. If you have read "84, Charing Cross Road" you will immediately recognize Hanff's touch in this book. "Q's Legacy" reads very much like one of Hanff's letters to her friends at the bookshop. It's almost as if she's come out of the pages and is there at your side telling you her story.

If you haven't read "84, Charing Cross Road" I suggest you read it first. It will make "Q's Legacy" seem more relevant.

Overall, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I know it will become an oft-read favorite.

Although Hanff is sadly gone, her legacy also lives on in this wonderful little volume. I stumbed upon it quite by accident, and now can't wait to read her other books. For anyone who has a love of books and writers, this is a MUST READ! You won't be able to put it down and you'll be forcing it on your friends.

Yes, I'm one of the cult-followers of Helene Hanff's mighty Charing Cross Road books. They are charming, indeed. Q'S LEGACY, however, is the book that tells why. It is the perfect culmination to the story of Helene's trans-atlantic love affair with Marks & Co, the antiquarian booksellers.

If you've loved 84 et al., you must read Q. It's as simple as that.

Well, I hate to throw in a dissenting voice and vote when surrounded by such accolades, yet I must. Perhaps I expected too much after reading 84 Charing Cross Road. If you haven't read that book, I HIGHLY recommend you do so. In this, the sequel to that book, Helene Hannf talks about her experiences that resulted from the unexpected success of 84. Parts are indeed very interesting and do answer some questions that arise when reading the first book.
But on the down side I found some of her exploits long and trying on my patience. Her love of the theatre is evident in this and other books of hers that are about the theatre. I, however, do not share her enthusiasm and found these sections quite long. I would have been more interested in her reactions to the making of the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. Yes, I know, I know, this book came out longgg before the movie was made. Hey, it was just a wish.
Bottom line, if you enjoyed 84 Charing Cross Road, pick up a used copy of this as parts are worth reading.

Reading Hanff's memoir/bio writings is like taking a long walk with an old friend. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes surprising, sometimes mundane, but always heartwarming. This feeling starts with the shared love of books and the whole world of books.

Having read and loved her "84 Charing Cross Road" and "The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street", peeking behind the scenes, so to speak, with Hanff as she deals with life before, during and after her literary successes is just too much fun. Hanff takes this opportunity to fill in the holes from her two previous memoirs; such as describing how reading and writing grabbed her when she was young and how she came to seek out books from a second-hand bookshop across the Atlantic. But most important to me is this is a real description from Hanff about what she did and how she felt, shared as if with a good friend sharing a pot of tea, and I thank her, posthumously, for her trust in the fans of her writing.

PS - first, read "84 Charing Cross Road" (at least)

Every book lover who has read the 97 pages of "84, Charing Cross Road" about Helene Hanff's wonderful correspondence with a London bookseller, ended with a tear in their eye and a longing for more. "Q's Legacy" is the more. It tells how "84" came to be published and how, after years of yearning, she finally gets to visit England. "Q's Legacy" has little meaning without reading "84" first. I've given many copies of both to friends over the years and they treasure them both. You will, too.