Life and Times of Allen Lane (Penguin Special) [Hardcover]

Jeremy Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Special | Publication Date: June 5, 2005

A stocky, dapper Bristolian who left school at the age of sixteen to work for his uncle at The Bodley Head and went on to found Penguin Books, Allen Lane was the greatest publisher of the twentieth century, and a major influence on the cultural and political life of post-war Britain. He did not invent the paperback, but he revolutionised our reading habits by his insistence that the best writing in the world should be made available for the price of a packet of cigarettes. Though never a bookish man himself, Lane was adept at sensing the spirit of the age and always ready to follow his hunches: he commissioned Nikolaus Pevsner to write the Buildings of England, gave his backing to John Lehmann's Penguin New Writing, arguably the finest literary magazine of its times, risked prosecution by publishing James Joyce's Ullyses for the first time in this country, and a quarter of a century later appeared at the Old Bailey to defend Penguin's publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover, thereby anticipating the liberal reforms of the 1960s. A mischievous, quixotic, oddly endearing figure who loathed meetings and paperwork a German visitor was shocked to find an editorial meeting taking place in a rowing boat, and well lubricated with gin Lane combined ruthlessness with affability, courage with moral cowardice, loyalty with unpredictability. Few publishers are remembered after their lifetimes: Allen Lane is a rare exception to the rule.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Invaluable and fascinating."
—Nick Hornby, Time Out (London)

"Hugely enjoyable . . . Jeremy Lewis’s biography is an extraordinarily vivid portrait of an extraordinary man."
—The Sunday Telegraph (London)

"The book is a triumph. His knowledge of the publishing world is unrivaled and this must be the best survey of the nuts-and-bolts of the industry ever devised."
—The Sunday Mail (U.K.) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jeremy Lewis worked in publishing for much of his life after leaving Trinity College Dublin in 1965. He was a director of Chatto & Windus for ten years, and the Deputy Editor of the London Magazine from 1990-'94. He has been the Commissioning Editor of the Oldie since 1997. He has written two highly praised volumes of autobiography, Playing for Time and Kindred Spirits, and edited The Chatto Book of Office Life. His authorised biography of Cyril Connolly was published by Jonathan Cape in 1997, and his life of Tobias Smollett in 2003. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he is married with two daughters, and lives near Richmond Park.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Viking; First Edition edition (June 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670914851
• ISBN-13: 978-0670914852
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,048,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars If you ever really wondered about the history of Penguin Publishing, this is the book you'll want to read!, September 27, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Penguin Special: The Story of Allen Lane, the Founder of Penguin Books and the Man Who Changed Publishing Forever (Hardcover)

He was the type of boy no one took particular notice of. Academically he was a dud. Athletics was definitely not his calling. He was nondescript in every way and if he were to graduate high school in this day and age he would most likely be the young man voted least likely to succeed. Allen Lane Williams was a boy of little promise, but upon leaving school at the age of sixteen his life would change forever. In deference to his Uncle John, owner of the Bodley Head, a renown publishing company in London, the family surname was changed to Lane. Allen Lane Williams Lane was going to start at the bottom, a fact in which he later would be ultimately proud of, and join the firm. In a PENGUIN SPECIAL: The Story of Allen Lane, the Founder of Penguin Books and the Man Who Changed Publishing Forever, Jeremy Lewis relates the story of a humble boy who would eventually change and challenge the face of the book world. He would be the dud turned dynamo.

Allen's Uncle John had great appreciation for those who learned the ropes from the ground up and his nephew fit the bill. Starting at the very bottom rung in the firm, he came to know the business well and when his uncle passed away he quickly stepped forward to claim his inheritance, an inheritance of not only the company, Bodley Head, but a wealth of publishing and business acumen. With the eventual demise of the family business, Lane quickly founded Penguin Books, a company that was said to be the "publishing phenomenon of the decade, if not the century."

Lane was ruthless, shrewd and came to know his business, seemingly better than any predecessor or peer. No one stood in his way when it came to a good business deal, not even his own brother. His axe made little distinction, but then again he was known for impetuous acts of generosity. Penguin, the name soon synonymous with the work `paperback,' was as cheap as a pack of cigarettes and catapulted the young Allen Lane to the top of the publishing world. He instinctively knew a good book when he saw one. It was an amazing feat for one, whom many claimed, never even turned the page of a book, let alone finished one. Toward the end of his life Lane himself claimed, "I'm not a very intelligent man, and I've really got away with murder."

I would not go so far to claim this book is riveting, invaluable or fascinating as the advance praise blurbs claimed for this book, but I did find it fairly interesting as I'm a huge Penguin fan. It amazed me that a man such as Allen Lane has been swept into obscurity, as his "book," the Penguin, appears destined for immortality. Jeremy Lewis did a marvelous job of researching and writing this book, but I believe that the reader would need to be firmly interested in publishing history and/or Penguin Books to enjoy it.