THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET by...

THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET by Helene Hanff (Moyer Bell: $11.95; 144 pp.). In the delightful sequel to “84, Charing Cross Road,� Helene Hanff makes a long-awaited visit to London. Although initially surprised at her celebrity, she quickly learns to enjoy it. She meets people she’s corresponded with for decades, deals with overzealous guides and charms the reader with a characteristic mixture of gentle good humor and outspoken impatience. At a posh luncheon, she comments, “You look at the faces in the Hilton dining room and first you want to smack them and then you just feel sorry for them. Not a soul in the room looked happy.�