Stanley Unwin (publisher)
Stanley Unwin | |
---|---|
![]() Portrait by Walter Stoneman, 1946 | |
Known for | founder of Allen & Unwin |
Sir Stanley Unwin, KCMG (19 December 1884 – 13 October 1968) was a British publisher, who founded the Allen & Unwin publishing firm.[1]
Career[]
Unwin started his career at the publishing firm of his step uncle Thomas Fisher Unwin. In 1914 Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in the firm George Allen and Sons, and established George Allen & Unwin, later to become Allen and Unwin.[2]
The company found success publishing authors such as Bertrand Russell, Sidney Webb, R. H. Tawney and Gandhi.[2]
In the 1930s he published two bestsellers by Lancelot Hogben: Mathematics for the Million and Science for the Citizen.[3]
In 1936, J. R. R. Tolkien submitted The Hobbit for publication and Unwin paid his ten-year-old son Rayner Unwin a shilling[4] to write a report on the manuscript. Rayner's favourable response prompted Unwin to publish the book. Once the book became a success, Unwin asked Tolkien for a sequel, which eventually became the bestselling The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien had wanted to publish The Silmarillion, but it was turned down for being "too Celtic"; it was finally published after his death by Allen & Unwin in 1977.
In 1950 Unwin published another bestseller, Thor Heyerdahl's The Kon-Tiki Expedition.
During his career Unwin was active in book trade organs such as the Publishers Association, the International Publishers Association and the British Council.[2]
Personal life[]
Stanley Unwin was born on 19 December 1884 at 13 Handen Road, Lee, Lewisham, south-east London. His father was Edward Unwin (1840-1933) and his mother was Elizabeth Unwin (née Spicer). Edward Unwin was a printer whose father, Jacob Unwin, was the founder of the printing firm Unwin Brothers.
The publisher Thomas Fisher Unwin was his father's youngest stepbrother, therefore Stanley Unwin's step-uncle.
The children's author Ursula Moray Williams was his niece.[5]
Unwin was a lifelong pacifist, and during the First World War, as a conscientious objector, he joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD).[6]
Unwin died on 13 October 1968 and was honoured with a Blue Plaque at his birthplace.
His birthplace in Handen Road, Lewisham
Blue Plaque on his birthplace.
Further reading[]
Books by Sir Stanley Unwin[]
- The Price of Books (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1925)
- The Truth About Publishing (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1926; 8th revised edition, Allen & Unwin, 1976)
- Book Trade Organisation in Norway and Sweden (1932)
- The Book in the Making (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1933)
- Two Young Men See the World (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1934). Joint author: Severn Storr.
- The Danish Book Trade Organisation (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1937)
- Best-sellers: Are They Born or Made? (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1939). Joint authors: George Stevens and Frank Swinnerton.
- Publishing in Peace and War (London : George Allen & Unwin, 1944)
- On Translations (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1946)
- How Governments Treat Books (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1950)
- The Truth About a Publisher: An Autobiographical Record (New York: Macmillan, 1960)
- Fifty Years with Father: A Relationship (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1982)
Books about the Unwin family[]
- Philip Unwin, The Publishing Unwins (London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1972)
- Philip Unwin, The Printing Unwins (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1976)
References[]
- ^ "Obituary: Sir Stanley Unwin". The Times. 15 October 1968. p. 13.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Stanley Unwin | Authors | Faber & Faber". www.faber.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ Primers for the Age of Plenty (George Allen & Unwin) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Plimmer, Charlotte and Denis (21 October 2015). "JRR Tolkien: 'Film my books? Its easier to film the Odyssey'". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK: TMG. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Obituaries: Ursula Moray Williams". The Independent. London, UK: INM. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography
External links[]
- Unwin, Sir Stanley (1884–1968) in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Works by or about Stanley Unwin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors
- 1884 births
- 1968 deaths
- British conscientious objectors
- 20th-century British businesspeople
- Knights Bachelor
- Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Officers of the Order of the White Lion