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The Maverick: George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing
The captivating story of the famed publisher George Weidenfeld, from his struggles as an Austrian-Jewish refugee in London to his rise as a world-renowned literary figure.
After arriving in London just before World War Two as a penniless Austrian-Jewish refugee, George Weidenfeld went on to transform not only the world of publishing but the culture of ideas. The books that he published include momentous titles such as Lolita, Double Helix, The Group, and The Hedgehog and the Fox, with authors he championed ranging from Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy, JD Salinger, and Edna O’Brien to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow, and Henry Kissinger. His role as publisher brought him into the orbit of influential figures such as George Bush, Ann Getty, Donald Trump, and LBJ.
In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished, and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating character. Throughout his long career, he was written about in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, and other publications. Was he, as described by some, the “greatest salesperson,” “the world’s best networker,” “the publisher’s publisher,” and “a great intellectual”? Was his lifelong effort to be the world’s most famous host a cover for his desperate loneliness? Who, in fact, was the real George Weidenfeld and how did he rise so successfully within the ranks of New York and London society?
Drawing on author correspondence, internal memos, and other documents buried deep in the secret publishing files of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Harding crafts a portrait of the publisher's life that is inextricable from the efforts and intricacies of putting a book into the world. Structured around twenty books associated with George Weidenfeld, and intercut with explorations of contemporary concerns such as cancel culture, the right to publish, freedom of speech, and separating the art from the artist, The Maverick tells the captivating story behind the life of this iconic publisher.
After arriving in London just before World War Two as a penniless Austrian-Jewish refugee, George Weidenfeld went on to transform not only the world of publishing but the culture of ideas. The books that he published include momentous titles such as Lolita, Double Helix, The Group, and The Hedgehog and the Fox, with authors he championed ranging from Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy, JD Salinger, and Edna O’Brien to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow, and Henry Kissinger. His role as publisher brought him into the orbit of influential figures such as George Bush, Ann Getty, Donald Trump, and LBJ.
In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished, and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating character. Throughout his long career, he was written about in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, and other publications. Was he, as described by some, the “greatest salesperson,” “the world’s best networker,” “the publisher’s publisher,” and “a great intellectual”? Was his lifelong effort to be the world’s most famous host a cover for his desperate loneliness? Who, in fact, was the real George Weidenfeld and how did he rise so successfully within the ranks of New York and London society?
Drawing on author correspondence, internal memos, and other documents buried deep in the secret publishing files of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Harding crafts a portrait of the publisher's life that is inextricable from the efforts and intricacies of putting a book into the world. Structured around twenty books associated with George Weidenfeld, and intercut with explorations of contemporary concerns such as cancel culture, the right to publish, freedom of speech, and separating the art from the artist, The Maverick tells the captivating story behind the life of this iconic publisher.
329 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2023
About the author
Thomas Harding
46 books211 followersThomas Harding is a bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has written for the Sunday Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian, among other publications.
He is the author of HANNS AND RUDOLF which won the JQ-Wingate Prize for Non-Fiction; THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, which was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; and BLOOD ON THE PAGE which won the Crime Writers’ Association “Golden Dagger Award for Non-Fiction”. For all his books, reviews and updates, go to thomasharding.com and follow him on X/ twitter @thomasharding
He is the author of HANNS AND RUDOLF which won the JQ-Wingate Prize for Non-Fiction; THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, which was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; and BLOOD ON THE PAGE which won the Crime Writers’ Association “Golden Dagger Award for Non-Fiction”. For all his books, reviews and updates, go to thomasharding.com and follow him on X/ twitter @thomasharding
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2024
ANOTHER MASTERPIECE FROM THE MASTER THOMAS HARDING THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
November 27, 2023
I greatly enjoyed "The Maverick: George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing." As an American publisher I encountered Weidenfeld and his London firm a couple times over the years. He comes through as very colorful in this book. I like the way the author organized it. Each chapter is devoted to the writing and publication of one book, or one author, who GW published. There's Isaiah Berlin and the titling of The Hedgehog and the Fox; Lolita, on which the company avoided an obscenity judgment from British courts; Herzog by Saul Bellow, who was late with the manuscript, and impetuous to work with; The Double Helix by Watson and Crick, on which they also had to dodge problems in court; Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser, who had worked for the firm when she was young; and an astonishing chapter on a biography that GW commissioned of one of the many Mitford sisters, Unity. Before and during WWII she had associated with the fascist Oswald Mosely (she admired Hitler). An ally of Unity Mitford filed suit to derail publication, but the author and publisher held firm, and even with the climate in the UK favoring plaintiffs in libel, they managed to publish Unity Mitford: A Quest by David Pryce-Jones, an author whose books I am now moving on to read next.
November 3, 2024
I would say 3.5. I bought this book for the author not the subject. I knew nothing about GW and now know a lot. Standout chapters are the Lolita publication. Very interesting.
March 23, 2024
Fascinating saga of Weidenfeld's life and career, could be called THE LOVES AND SUCCESSES OF GEORGE WEIDENFELD. What an excellent way to read about 20th Century popular literature.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews