666 Charing Cross Road (novel): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:22, 9 November 2023

666 Charing Cross Road was a novel written by Paul Magrs, featuring elements introduced in Mad Dogs and Englishmen and The Brenda and Effie Mysteries. It was published by Headline Review in March 2012.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Shelley didn't expect her posh new boyfriend Daniel to be enthralled by the quintessence of evil. She's preoccupied with the surprise success of Bessie, the oddly lifelike centrepiece of her Manhattan museum show. Her great-aunt Liza is busy ordering spooky old books from the dusty vaults below Charing Cross Road, while her friend Jack prefers brand-new books and his brand-new lover. When a little leather book arrives, Liza finds it repellent, but doesn't realise it's stained with vampire blood - until too late. Its arcane magic brings Bessie to life, and gives Daniel unimaginable power.

As Daniel's supremacy grows, everyone's lives are infected. Soon the vicious vampire infestation rife in NYC threatens to spread to London - and only Bessie and her new friends can stop it...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Referenced only[[edit] | [edit source]]

Helene Hanff

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audiobook cover

The book's name is an homage to 84, Charing Cross Road.
Bessie appears here as a rougher sibling to Brenda. In the original 1998 BBC Radio 4 audio story Never the Bride (which would become the basis for The Brenda and Effie Mysteries) the character who would become Brenda was named "Bessie".
This novel was released as a digital-only audiobook on 21 May 2021 complete and unabridged as part of the Iris Wildthyme and Friends series by Big Finish Productions and read by Louise Jameson.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Fox Soames is the editor of the Books of Mayhem series. (PROSE: Kept Safe and Sound, To the Devil — a Diva!)
Bessie was discovered in a mad scientist's laboratory with a sister. (PROSE: Brenda's B&B, et al.)

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

666 Charing Cross Road at Headline Review (an imprint of Hachette Publishing)
Official 666 Charing Cross Road page at bigfinish.com

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 {{Infobox Story
 |image          = 666 Charing Cross Road.jpg
-|writer         = Paul Magrs
+|writer         = [[Paul Magrs]]
+|read by        = [[Louise Jameson]]
 |main character = [[Shelley (666 Charing Cross Road)|Shelley]]
 |setting        = [[London]], [[New York]]
 |release date   = [[12 March (releases)|12 March]] [[2012 (releases)|2012]]
-|publisher      = Headline Review (publisher) {{!}} Headline Review
+|publisher      = Headline Review (publisher){{!}}Headline Review
 |format         = Paperback book, 400 pages
-}}
+|enemy = vampire
-{{Prose stub}}
+}}{{Prose stub}}
 '''''666 Charing Cross Road''''' was a novel written by [[Paul Magrs]], featuring elements introduced in ''[[Mad Dogs and Englishmen (novel)|Mad Dogs and Englishmen]]'' and ''[[The Brenda and Effie Mysteries (series)|The Brenda and Effie Mysteries]]''. It was published by [[Headline Review (publisher)|Headline Review]] in [[12 March (releases)|March]] [[2012 (releases)|2012]].
 == Publisher's summary ==
-[[Shelley (666 Charing Cross Road)|Shelley]] didn't expect her posh new boyfriend [[Daniel (666 Charing Cross Road)|Daniel]] to be enthralled by the quintessence of [[evil]]. She's preoccupied with the surprise success of [[Bessie (666 Charing Cross Road)|Bessie]], the oddly lifelike centrepiece of her [[Manhattan]] museum show. Her great-aunt [[Liza (666 Charing Cross Road)|Liza]] is busy ordering spooky old books from the dusty vaults below [[Charing Cross Road]], while her friend [[Jack (666 Charing Cross Road)|Jack]] prefers brand-new [[book]]s and his brand-new lover. When a little leather book arrives, Liza finds it repellent, but doesn't realise it's stained with vampire blood - until too late. Its arcane magic brings Bessie to life, and gives Daniel unimaginable power.
+[[Shelley (666 Charing Cross Road)|Shelley]] didn't expect her posh new boyfriend [[Daniel (666 Charing Cross Road)|Daniel]] to be enthralled by the quintessence of [[evil]]. She's preoccupied with the surprise success of [[Bessie (666 Charing Cross Road)|Bessie]], the oddly lifelike centrepiece of her [[Manhattan]] museum show. Her great-aunt [[Liza Bathory|Liza]] is busy ordering spooky old books from the dusty vaults below [[Charing Cross Road]], while her friend [[Jack (666 Charing Cross Road)|Jack]] prefers brand-new [[book]]s and his brand-new lover. When a little leather book arrives, Liza finds it repellent, but doesn't realise it's stained with vampire blood - until too late. Its arcane magic brings Bessie to life, and gives Daniel unimaginable power.
-As Daniel's supremacy grows, everyone's lives are infected. Soon the vicious [[vampire]] infestation rife in [[NYC]] threatens to spread to London - and only Bessie and her new friends can stop it...
+As Daniel's supremacy grows, everyone's lives are infected. Soon the vicious [[vampire]] infestation rife in [[New York City|NYC]] threatens to spread to London - and only Bessie and her new friends can stop it...
 == Plot ==
 ''to be added''
 == Characters ==
 * [[Shelley (666 Charing Cross Road)|Shelley]]
 * [[Daniel (666 Charing Cross Road)|Daniel]]
-* [[Liza (666 Charing Cross Road)|Liza]]
+* [[Liza Bathory|Aunt Liza]]
 * [[Jack (666 Charing Cross Road)|Jack]]
 * [[Bessie (666 Charing Cross Road)|Bessie]]
 * [[Consuela (666 Charing Cross Road)|Consuela]]
-* [[Danby]]
+* [[K. N. Wright]]
+* [[Danby (666 Charing Cross Road)|Mr Danby]]
+* [[M (666 Charing Cross Road)|Mr M]]
 === Referenced only ===
 * [[Helene Hanff]]
-== References ==
-* [[Fox Soames]] is mentioned.
+== Worldbuilding ==
+''to be added''
 == Notes ==
-''to be added''
+[[File:666 Charing Cross Road (audiobook).jpg|thumb|Audiobook cover]]
+* The book's name is an homage to {{wi|84, Charing Cross Road}}.
+* Bessie appears here as a rougher sibling to [[Brenda]]. In the original 1998 BBC Radio 4 audio story ''Never the Bride'' (which would become the basis for ''[[The Brenda and Effie Mysteries (series)|The Brenda and Effie Mysteries]]'') the character who would become Brenda was named "Bessie".
+* This novel was released as a digital-only audiobook on [[21 May (releases)|21 May]] [[2021 (releases)|2021]] complete and unabridged as part of the ''[[Iris Wildthyme and Friends (audio series)|Iris Wildthyme and Friends]]'' series by [[Big Finish Productions]] and read by [[Louise Jameson]].
 == Continuity ==
-* Fox Soames is the editor of the ''[[Book of Mayhem]]'' series. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Kept Safe and Sound (short story)|Kept Safe and Sound]]'', ''[[To the Devil — a Diva! (novel)|To the Devil — a Diva!]]'')
+* Fox Soames is the editor of the ''[[Books of Mayhem]]'' series. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Kept Safe and Sound (short story)|Kept Safe and Sound]]'', ''[[To the Devil — a Diva! (novel)|To the Devil — a Diva!]]'')
+* Bessie was discovered in [[Victor Frankenstein|a mad scientist]]'s [[laboratory]] with [[Brenda|a sister]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Brenda's B&B (short story)|Brenda's B&B]]'', et al.)
 == External links ==
 {{elx|page url=https://www.hachette.com.au/paul-magrs/666-charing-cross-road|page name=''666 Charing Cross Road''|website url=https://www.hachette.com.au/|website name=Headline Review (an imprint of Hachette Publishing)}}
+{{bigfinish|releases/v/666-charing-cross-road-2395}}
 {{Spin-offs}}
 {{TitleSort}}
 [[Category:2012 novels]]
 [[Category:Stories set in London]]