84,Charing Cross Road

⊙ By Helene Hanff

翻譯：陳建銘

倫敦有很多奇妙的地址，比如會(huì)破案的貝克街221B、有魔法的國王十字車站9?站臺(tái)，以及賣舊書的查令十字街84號(hào)。

這本被奉為“愛書之人必讀”的書信體小說其實(shí)是美國小說家海蓮·漢芙的親身經(jīng)歷——她在報(bào)紙上看到一家二手書店的廣告，興沖沖地給對方寫信咨詢，很快便收到店主弗蘭克的懇切回復(fù)，由此開啟了一段長達(dá)20年的書信交心。得知戰(zhàn)后的倫敦物質(zhì)匱乏，古道熱腸的海蓮總是變著法子給書店眾人寄送包裹，逐漸與大家建立起深厚的友誼。她一直盼著有一天能去倫敦與弗蘭克見一面，誰知最后等到的竟是對方病逝的消息。她在悲痛之中將信件整理出版，誰料無心插柳，一炮而紅，才得以在晚年踏上夢寐以求的英國國土——此中的天意弄人，讓人讀之不免感慨萬千……

本期節(jié)選了其中的八封信。

學(xué)習(xí)指南針

文中的通信雙方一個(gè)是美國人，發(fā)音和拼寫都是美式，語法隨意，信中有很多不規(guī)范用語；另一個(gè)則是英國人，一口英式發(fā)音，拼寫是英式英語，辭藻講究，句法嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)。大家在學(xué)習(xí)時(shí)不妨對這種語言與文化差異多加留意。

October 5, 1949

Gentlemen:

Your ad in theSaturday Review of Literaturesays that you specialize in out-of-print books. The phrase “antiquarian[經(jīng)營古本的]booksellers” scares me somewhat[有點(diǎn)], as I equate[等同]“antique”with expensive. I am a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books and all the things I want are impossible to get over here except in very expensive rare editions, or in Barnes &Noble’s grimy[骯臟的], marked-up schoolboy copies.

I enclose[附寄]a list of my most pressing problems. If you have clean secondhand copies of any of the books on the list, for no more than $5.00 each, will you consider this a purchase order[訂單]and send them to me?

Very truly yours,

（Miss） Helene Hanff

25th October, 1949

Dear Madam,

In reply to your letter of October 5th, we have managed to clear up two thirds of your problem. The three Hazlitt essays you want are contained in the Nonesuch Press edition of hisSelected Essaysand the Stevenson is found inVirginibus Puerisque. We are sending nice copies of both these by Book Post[書籍郵寄]and we trust they will arrive safely in due course and that you will be pleased with them. Our invoice[發(fā)票]is enclosed with the books.

The Leigh Hunt essays are not going to be so easy but we will see if we can find an attractive volume[書]with them all in. We haven’t the Latin[拉丁文]Bible you describe but we have a Latin New Testament[《新約》], also a Greek New Testament, ordinary modern editions in cloth binding[裝訂]. Would you like these?

Yours faithfully,

FPD

For MARKS & CO.

November 3, 1949

Gentlemen:

The books arrived safely, the Stevenson is so fine it embarrasses my orange-crate[板條箱]bookshelves, I’m almost afraid to handle such soft vellum[牛皮紙]and heavy cream-colored pages. Being used to the dead-white paper and stiff[硬的]cardboardy[如硬紙板的]covers of American books, I never knew a book could be such a joy to the touch.

A Britisher whose girl lives upstairs translated the ?1/17/6 for me and says I owe you$5.30 for the two books. I hope he got it right. I enclose a $5 bill and a single, please use the 70 cents toward the price of the New Testaments, both of which I want.

Will you please translate your prices hereafter[今后]? I don’t add too well in plain American, I haven’t a prayer[成功的機(jī)會(huì)]of ever mastering bilingual[雙語的]arithmetic[算術(shù)].

Yours,

Helene Hanff

P.S. I hope “madam” doesn’t mean over there what it does here.

9th November, 1949

Dear Miss Hanff,

Your six dollars arrived safely, but we should feel very much easier if you would send your remittances[匯款]by postal money order[郵政匯票]in future, as this would be quite a bit safer for you than entrusting[托付]dollar bills[鈔票]to the mails.

We are very happy you liked the Stevenson so much. We have sent off the New Testaments, with an invoice listing the amount due in both pounds and dollars, and we hope you will be pleased with them.

Yours faithfully,

FPD

For MARKS & CO.

March 25, 1950

Frank Doel, what are you DOING over there, you are not doing ANYTHING, you are just sitting AROUND.

Where is Leigh Hunt? Where is theOxfordVerse[詩篇]? Where is the Vulgate and dear goofy[笨的]John Henry, I thought they’d be such nice uplifting[使人開心的]reading for Lent and NOTHING do you send me.

You leave me sitting here writing long margin[頁邊]notes in library books that don’t belong to me, some day they’ll find out I did it and take my library card away.

I have made arrangements with the Easter bunny to bring you an Egg, he will get over there and find you have died of Inertia[惰性].

I require a book of love poems with spring coming on. No Keats or Shelley. Wyatt or Jonson or somebody, use your own judgment. Just a nice book preferably[最好]small enough to stick in a slacks[寬松長褲]pocket and take to Central Park.

Well, don’t just sit there! Go find it! I swear I don’t know how that shop keeps going.

7th April, 1950

Dear Miss Hanff,

I have to thank you for the very welcome Easter parcel which arrived safely yesterday.We were all delighted to see the tins[罐頭]and the box of shell eggs[帶殼蛋], and the rest of the staff joins me in thanking you for your very kind and generous thought of us.

I am sorry we haven’t been able to send you any of the books you want. About the book of love poems, now and then we do get such a volume as you describe. We have none in stock[有現(xiàn)貨]at the moment but shall look out for one for you.

Again, many thanks for the parcel.

Faithfully Yours,

Frank Doel

For MARKS & CO.

9th April, 1951

Dear Miss Hanff,

I expect you are getting a bit worried that we have not written to thank you for your parcels and are probably thinking that we are an ungrateful lot[一群人]. The truth is that I have been chasing round the country in and out of various stately[堂皇的]homes of England trying to buy a few books to fill up our sadly depleted[耗盡的]stock. My wife was starting to call me the lodger[房客]who just went home for bed and breakfast, but of course when I arrived home with a nice piece of MEAT, to say nothing of dried eggs and ham[火腿], then she thought I was a fine fellow and all was forgiven. It is a long time since we saw so much meat all in one piece.

We should like to express our appreciation in some way or other, so we are sending by Book Post today a little book which I hope you will like. I remember you asked me for a volume of Elizabethan[伊麗莎白一世時(shí)代的]love poems some time ago—well, this is the nearest l ccaann ggeett ttoo iitt..

Yours faithfully,

Frank Doel

For MARKS & CO.

April 16, 1951

To All at 84, Charing Cross Road:

Thank you for the beautiful book. I’ve never owned a book before with pages edged all round in gold. Would you believe it arrived on my birthday?

I wish you hadn’t been so over-courteous[有禮貌的]about putting the inscription[題詞]on a card instead of on the flyleaf[扉頁]. It’s the bookseller coming out in you all, you were afraid you’d decrease its value. You would have increased it for the present owner. （And possibly for the future owner. I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely[同志般的]sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages some one long gone has called my attention to.）

And why didn’t you sign your names? I expect Frank wouldn’t let you, he probably doesn’t want me writing love letters to anybody but him.

Thank you again for the beautiful book, I shall try very hard not to get gin[酒類]and ashes all over it, it’s really much too fine for the likes of[像……這樣的人]me.

Yours,

參考譯文

1949年10月5日

諸位先生：

我在《星期六文學(xué)評論》上看到你們刊登的廣告，上頭說你們專營絕版書。另一個(gè)字眼“古書商”則令我有些望之卻步，因?yàn)槲铱傉J(rèn)為：既然“古”，一定也很“貴”吧——而我只不過是一名對書本有著“古老”口味的窮作家罷了。在我住的地方總買不到我想讀的書，不是索價(jià)高昂的珍本，就是巴諾書店里頭那些被學(xué)生涂得亂七八糟的邋遢書。

隨信附上一份清單，上面列出我目前最想讀的書。如果貴店有符合該書單所列，而每本又不高于五美元的話，可否將此函視為訂購單，并將書寄給我？

你忠實(shí)的

海蓮·漢芙（小姐）

1949年10月25日

敬愛的夫人：

謹(jǐn)在此回復(fù)您于本月五日的來函。敝店很榮幸能為您解除三分之二的困擾。您所列出的三篇黑茲利特散文均收錄在典范出版社這本《黑茲利特散文選》內(nèi)；史蒂文森的作品則在《致少女少男》中可以找到。我們挑出兩本品相較好的書為您寄上，相信不久后即可送達(dá)您的手中，祈盼您會(huì)滿意。隨書附上發(fā)票。

至于您提及的利·亨特的散文，目前頗不易得見，不過我們會(huì)留意是否能找到收羅齊全且裝幀精良的版本，屆時(shí)將再為您寄上。而您所描述的拉丁文圣經(jīng)，目前敝店并無存書，僅有晚近出版、布面精裝的普通版拉丁文和希臘文《新約全書》，不知您是否有興趣？

馬克斯與科恩書店

FPD敬上

1949年11月3日

諸位先生：

今天收到你們寄來的書，史蒂文森的書真漂亮！放進(jìn)我用橘子箱湊數(shù)的書架里實(shí)在太委屈它了。我捧著它，生怕污損那細(xì)致的皮裝封面和米黃色的厚實(shí)內(nèi)頁?？磻T了那些用慘白紙張和硬紙板印制的美國書，我從沒想過一本書竟能這么迷人，光是撫摸著就教人打心里頭舒服。

住在樓上的女孩有個(gè)英國男朋友，他幫我將賬單上列的書價(jià)換算了一下，一英鎊十七先令六便士折合美金五元三角，希望他沒算錯(cuò)。我隨信寄上五元和一元的鈔票各一張，多出來的七角請用來支付《新約全書》，那兩本我都要買。

你們行行好，下回先將書價(jià)換算成美金可以嗎？我連加減美金都一塌糊涂了，要我把英鎊換算成美金真是阿彌陀佛。

海蓮·漢芙

又及：我希望在你們那邊，“夫人”的意思和我們這邊指的是兩碼事。

CY百科

◆ Barnes & Noble 巴諾書店：由查樂斯·

巴恩斯于1873年創(chuàng)辦，旗下包括大學(xué)書店、老年書店、社區(qū)書店、網(wǎng)上書店等多種業(yè)務(wù)，是美國目前最大的實(shí)體書店連鎖品牌。

◆ William Hazlitt 威廉·黑茲利特：英國隨筆作家（1778–1830），風(fēng)格激烈、直接、敏銳，文章具有極強(qiáng)的可讀性。

◆ Robert Louis Stevenson 羅伯特·路易斯·史蒂文森：19世紀(jì)最偉大的英國小說家之一（1850–1894），代表作有《金銀島》《化身博士》《綁架》等，對后世的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義文學(xué)影響深遠(yuǎn)。

◆ Leigh Hunt 利·亨特：英國詩人、作家（1784–1859），因?qū)⒀┤R和濟(jì)慈的詩歌介紹給大眾而聞名。

◆ Vulgate 拉丁文通俗譯本圣經(jīng)：又名《武加大譯本》，是拉丁文《圣經(jīng)》的通行版本，因采用羅馬平民都能看懂的通俗拉丁語（Vulgus）而得名。

◆ John Henry Newman 約翰·亨利·紐

曼：英國詩人、作家、神學(xué)家（1801–1890），是19世紀(jì)英國宗教史的重要人物。

◆ Lent 大齋節(jié)：又稱封齋節(jié)、大齋期或四旬期，是基督教的齋戒節(jié)期，由每年的“圣灰星期三”一直持續(xù)到復(fù)活節(jié)前夕，為期40天。

◆ John Keats 約翰·濟(jì)慈：英國杰出詩人（1795–1821），才華橫溢，在短短一生中用詩歌完美體現(xiàn)了浪漫主義特色，是歐洲浪漫主義運(yùn)動(dòng)代表。

◆ Percy Bysshe Shelley 珀西·比?！ぱ┤R：英國著名作家、浪漫主義詩人（1792–1822），被認(rèn)為是人類史上最出色的英語詩人之一。

◆ Thomas Wyatt 托馬斯·懷亞特：英國詩人、政治家（1503–1542），作為亨利八世的朝臣，曾多次擔(dān)任外交使節(jié)，后因各種控罪被數(shù)次囚禁在倫敦塔。

◆ Ben Jonson 本·瓊森：英國劇作家、詩人、演員（1572–1637），以諷刺劇和抒情詩著稱，對新古典主義的形成有很大影響。

1949年11月9日

敬愛的漢芙小姐：

您寄來的六元書款已悉數(shù)收到，不過我們建議您不妨改用郵政匯票付款，如此不但對我們較為便利，亦比直接將鈔票放入信封要保險(xiǎn)得多。

我們非常高興得知您如此喜歡史蒂文森的書。兩本《新約全書》均已付郵，賬單亦一并附上，同時(shí)依照您的囑咐，將書款分別以英鎊與美金計(jì)價(jià)。我們期盼您也會(huì)喜歡此次寄去的兩本書。

馬克斯與科恩書店

FPD敬上

1950年3月25日

弗蘭克·德爾！你在干啥？終日無所事事！你只是在混日子吧！

利·亨特呢？《牛津英語詩選》呢？《通俗拉丁文圣經(jīng)》和書呆子約翰·亨利的書呢？我還等著這些書來陪我過一個(gè)快活的大齋節(jié)，結(jié)果你連個(gè)影兒也沒寄來！

你害我只好枯坐在家里，把密密麻麻的注記寫在圖書館的書上。哪天要是讓他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了，準(zhǔn)會(huì)吊銷我的借書證。

我已經(jīng)叫復(fù)活節(jié)兔子給你捎了個(gè)“蛋”，希望它到達(dá)時(shí)不會(huì)看到你已經(jīng)慵懶而死吧！

春意漸濃，我想讀點(diǎn)兒情詩。別給我寄濟(jì)慈或雪萊，懷亞特、瓊森還是誰的，你自己動(dòng)動(dòng)腦筋！最好是小小一本，可以讓我輕松塞進(jìn)褲袋里，帶到中央公園去讀。

行啦！別老坐著，快去把它找出來！真搞不懂你們是怎么做生意的！

1950年4月7日

親愛的漢芙小姐：

感謝您寄來的復(fù)活節(jié)禮物，包裹已于昨日平安寄達(dá)。看到這些罐頭和那一盒生雞蛋，大家都十分開心，全體同仁與我在此感激您對我們的親切掛念與慷慨關(guān)懷。

非常抱歉，我們一直沒能寄上您想要的書。關(guān)于您所提到的情詩集，敝店偶爾會(huì)收購到一些，可惜目前店內(nèi)沒有存書，但會(huì)竭力為您搜尋。

再次感謝您寄來的禮物包裹。

馬克斯與科恩書店

弗蘭克·德爾敬上

1951年4月9日馬克斯與科恩書店弗蘭克·德爾敬上

親愛的漢芙小姐：

我猜您大概已經(jīng)開始擔(dān)心，我們竟然這么久都沒寫信謝謝您寄來的包裹，心里頭一定正在嘀咕：真是一群不知好歹的家伙。實(shí)際上，我最近到鄉(xiāng)間跑了一大圈，到處拜訪豪華宅第，搜尋藏書，努力補(bǔ)充店里捉襟見肘的庫存。我太太已經(jīng)開始把我當(dāng)成房客來招呼了——我總是只回家睡覺，一吃完早餐又不見人影。不過，當(dāng)我?guī)е偷娜猓u蛋、火腿就更不用說了）回到家里，她就會(huì)覺得我畢竟也非一無是處，所有的不開心也就隨之煙消云散。我們已經(jīng)太久沒能見到一大塊完整的肉了。

我們總得想點(diǎn)兒法子，以表達(dá)我們對您的感激。于是，我們寄上另一本小書，希望您會(huì)喜歡它。我還記得您曾經(jīng)想買一本伊麗莎白時(shí)期的情詩集，這是我所能找到最符合要求的了。

1951年4月16日

此致 倫敦查令十字街84號(hào)全體同仁：

謝謝你們送我這本美麗的書。我從沒擁有過這么一本三邊的頁緣都上金的書。你們知道嗎？我竟在生日當(dāng)天收到這本書！

你們另外寫了一張卡片，而不是直接在扉頁上題詞，我真希望你們不要這么拘謹(jǐn)。這一定是你們的“書商本性”使然吧，你們擔(dān)心一旦寫了字在書上，將會(huì)折損它的價(jià)值——差矣，你們?nèi)绻婺苓@么做，無論是對我還是對未來的主人而言，都會(huì)讓這本書更有價(jià)值。我喜歡扉頁上的題詞和頁邊上的注記，我愛極了翻閱別人翻過的書頁帶來的志同道合感，也喜歡被早已逝去的前人耳提面命的感覺。

還有，為什么大家不簽上名字呢？我猜一定是弗蘭克不準(zhǔn)你們簽的，他大概怕我會(huì)撇下他，給你們大家寫情書吧！

再次感謝你們送我這本美麗的書，我一定會(huì)格外小心，免得讓它濺到酒滴，沾了煙灰。這份禮物對我這種人來說實(shí)在太隆重了。

海蓮·漢芙上

（節(jié)選自譯林出版社版本，有改動(dòng)）