Frank Doel

Frank Doel was a British bookseller who achieved fame after his death as the recipient of a series of humorous letters from the American author, Helene Hanff; to which he scrupulously, and at first very formally, replied.

Early life

He was born in Wallasey, Cheshire on July 14th 1908, and moved from there to Hornsey, London when he was 8 years old.

From 1919 to 1924, Doel was educated at Hornsey County Grammar School, a co-educational school also attended by his elder brother.

On leaving school, Frank started his first, and only, job with Marks & Co, an antiquarion bookshop, located at 84, Charing Cross Road, London.

Always known as "young Frank" [ [http://www.84charingcrossroad.co.uk/ Fan web-site] ] ,he learnt the trade from his employers Ben Marks and Mark Cohen.

Family life

Doel was twice married.

In 1936 he married Mary Price and their daughter, Sheila, was born in 1939.Mary died in 1945.In 1947 Doel married Nora Flynn and a second daughter, Mary, was born in 1948.

War service

During the Second World War in the Middle East Doel served as a Private in the RAOC [During this time Frank's friend and colleague John Watson, himself exempt from call up on health grounds, deputised for him. ] .

Character

Doel travelled the country and was well regarded wherever he went [ "The Frank Doel I knew" Frank Westwood: article in the Petersfield Post, 24th October 1994] . Mark Cohen would describe him as the shop's 'anchor man' [ 84 fan Site (Ibid) ] .

Doel loved classical music and was, with his brother, a keen Tottenham Hotspur F.C. supporter.

=Social life= Frank had many good friends and colleagues in the antiquarian book trade [ Petersfield Post (ibid)] and much of his and Nora's social life centred around the Society of Antiquarian Booksellers Employees [otherwise known as the Bibliomites ] , of which he was a Committee Member [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/84-charing-cross-road-play-2 Doel’s character] ] .

Doel knew the Soviet double agent Peter Kroger, who was later imprisoned for spying, because he opened a rare bookshop near St Clement Danes's church as a cover for his activities [ [http://freespace.virgin.net/angela.garry/PackOfLies.htm Background to Kroger affair] ] .

Later life

By the late 1960s Frank was running the business virtually single handed, Marks having died and Cohen too elderly to oversee day-to-day operations.

He died from peritonitis on December 22nd 1968 and his funeral was attended by almost the whole of London antiquarian book trade on New Year's Day 1969.

" It is with deep sorrow and regret we have to announce the death on the 22nd of December of MR. FRANK DOEL, who has been with us for over forty years. He will be greatly missed by us all and his many friends throughout the country. - Messrs. MARKS & CO., 84, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.2.".

When Hanff belatedly heard of his death she wrote a short autobiographical book which became the cult classic "84, Charing Cross Road" [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/04/11/ncha11.html Hanff's reaction] ] . The book was subsequently turned into a play and a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.

References