The Seven Lives of John Murray: The Story of a Publishing Dynasty

by Humphrey Carpenter

Overview

From its birth in 1768, when the first John Murray of Edinburgh came down to London, each of the publishing house's seven leaders has made his own contribution to the dissemination of literature and the understanding of the world. One became Byron's publisher and confidante; another began the revolutionary series of Murray handbooks which transformed world travel in the early years of the railways; a third broke controversial new ground with the publication of Queen Victoria's letters. So the tradition progressed to the end of the 20th century, and a list of literary giants including Patrick Leigh Fermor, Osbert Lancaster, Francoise Sagan, and British Poet Laureate, John Betjeman. Written in Carpenter's rollicking and iconoclastic style, it is an affectionate and vibrant account of the longest-surviving publishing house in the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719565335
Publisher:	Murray, John Publishers, Limited
Publication date:	07/23/2009
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005) has written many bestselling, award-winning biographies whose subjects include J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Ezra Pound, W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, and Spike Milligan. He was also a prolific author of childrens' books.