They Read Books and Go to Cocktail Parties

by Michael Legat

In this book, bestselling author Michael Legat looks back over his long and distinguished career in publishing and his subsequent achievements as a writer. He reminisces about his first job at The Bodley Head, his long service at Transworld Publishers, and his less-than-happy years at Cassell. They Read Books and Go to Cocktail Parties is liberally laced with humor and a wealth of fascinating anecdotes about such diverse personalities as Claire Rayner, Nicholas Monsarrat, Dr. T. Lobsang Rampa, Jacqueline Susann, and the publishers Stanley Unwin and Victor Gollancz.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Legat was born on 24 March 1923 in London, England, UK. He began writing at a very early age. He devoted his career to publishing and also wrote a book for authors. After a long and successful career as Editorial Director of Corgi Books and later of Cassell during 35 years, in 1978 he decided to leave the trade and take up writing full time. In 1980 his first novel, Mario's Vineyard was published and this was followed by a series of other novels and highly-acclaimed how-to books for writers, that its sales currently stand at over 200,000 copies.

Michael Legat remaid heavily involved in the publishing industry, has served on various committees, was the president of two writers' circles and was a associate vice-presidents of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Michael passed away on 15 August 2011 in Sussex, England.