Q's Legacy: A Delightful Account of a Lifelong Love Affair with Books

Helene Hanff is a great writer.

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!

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.

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.

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.