Helene Hanff is a favorite author of mine. One of her more familiar works is 84 Charing Cross Road. I was pleased to find four hits from the Online Archives of California which referred to her writing (The Riddle of Mary Murray) and adapting (Jane Austin's Emma and Pride and Prejudice, and J.M. Barrie's The Little Minister) scripts for the NBC Matinee Theatre in the 1950s. Located in the Special Collections of the Young Research Library at UCLA.
"Helene M. Hanff, 1916-1997, author and playwright, wrote television scripts in the 1950s, American history books for children in the 1960s, and other books in the 1970s and 1980s. Her best known work was 84, Charing Cross Road, published in 1970, which was drawn from her correspondence with Frank P. Doel of Marks & Co. in London, Booksellers. She later did a monthly broadcast for the BBC from 1978 to 1985."
The Columbia University Library's collection includes Box 1: Correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, & books about Hanff; Box 2: Books by and about Hanff & plaque; Box 3: Books by Hanff.
This would be fun to play with at greater length.
Good search, GentleReader. I really like 84 Charing Cross Road, too. Thanks for teaching me more about the author!
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