2026 Reading Challenge
The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Questions About The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

by Helene Hanff

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Answered Questions (1)

The book ends, "Rest in peace, Mary Bailey." Who is Mary Bailey?
Olivia Entry from June 18: "I come from very mixed ancestry, which includes an English Quaker family named Bailey. A daughter of that family, Mary Bailey, bo…moreEntry from June 18: "I come from very mixed ancestry, which includes an English Quaker family named Bailey. A daughter of that family, Mary Bailey, born in Philadelphia in 1807, was the only ancestor I had any interest in when I was a little girl. (...) Sitting in Bedford Square I reminded myself that Mary Bailey was born in Philadelphia, died in Virginia and never saw London. But the name persisted in my head. Maybe she was a namesake. Maybe it was her grandmother or great-grandmother who had wanted to go home again. All I knew, sitting there, was that some long-dead Mary Bailey or other had finally found a descendent to go home for her."(less)
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