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Penguin Portrait: Allen Lane and the Penguin Editors 1935-1970
Published to mark the 60th anniversary of Penguin books in 1995, this book covers the period of Penguin's history while it was under the direct control of Sir Allen Lane. It is based largely on the Penguin archive files that comprises correspondence between authors, editors and Sir Allen Lane.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 18, 2022
A superb literary and social history encapsulated in archives from Penguin Books. There are letters, internal memoranda, reminiscences and everything else from the Penguin archives that brings to life the history of Penguin with Allen Lane at the helm.
Not surprisingly the Lady Chatterley cause celebre is there but there are also contributions from such as Robert Graves, George Orwell, Graham Greene and Dorothy L Sayers, whose comments on quotation marks are my particular favourites (probably because I entirely agree with her thinking!). There is also the surprising story about Penguin's most expensive book ever - I won't give it away but I will say that the chapter concerned is headed 'Lanesday' - if that gives any clues!
A book that is difficult to put down and one that could go on for a further 300+ pages and still not be boring. A great read and one that can be dipped into any time and at any point for there are many, many threads that can be explored.
Not surprisingly the Lady Chatterley cause celebre is there but there are also contributions from such as Robert Graves, George Orwell, Graham Greene and Dorothy L Sayers, whose comments on quotation marks are my particular favourites (probably because I entirely agree with her thinking!). There is also the surprising story about Penguin's most expensive book ever - I won't give it away but I will say that the chapter concerned is headed 'Lanesday' - if that gives any clues!
A book that is difficult to put down and one that could go on for a further 300+ pages and still not be boring. A great read and one that can be dipped into any time and at any point for there are many, many threads that can be explored.
August 16, 2024
Penguin Portrait: Allen Lane and the Penguin Editors 1935-1970 (1995) Edited by Steve Hare
An informative and often entertaining read that let me delve even deeper into my Penguin obsession. Adds a decent bit of nice context and backstory to a lot of the series that I already knew about and am fond of, while also shining a light on some others that I wasn't so informed about or maybe didn't have a reason to care for as much and now I do. Particularly enjoyed the discussions between editors and authors. The Sayers-Dante stuff was particularly interesting of all. Feels like required reading for any Penguin collectors or those interested in the company or book companies in general. Excited to dig into my Penguin Collector's Society publications now.
An informative and often entertaining read that let me delve even deeper into my Penguin obsession. Adds a decent bit of nice context and backstory to a lot of the series that I already knew about and am fond of, while also shining a light on some others that I wasn't so informed about or maybe didn't have a reason to care for as much and now I do. Particularly enjoyed the discussions between editors and authors. The Sayers-Dante stuff was particularly interesting of all. Feels like required reading for any Penguin collectors or those interested in the company or book companies in general. Excited to dig into my Penguin Collector's Society publications now.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews