The Seven Lives of John Murray: The Story of a Publishing Dynasty [Hardcover]

Humphrey Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2008

From the burning of Byron's memoirs, Jane Austen's clipped businesslike manner, and the lucrative controversy caused by the publication of Darwins Origin of Species, through to the discovery of the new young poet John Betjeman, the name John Murray has for more than 200 years been synonymous with challenging, intelligent, and progressive publishing. From its birth in 1768, when the first John Murray of Edinburgh came down to London, each of its 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 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Humphrey Carpenter's history of the firm, completed by other hands after his death in 2005, is an evocation of a vanished age' -- Jeremy Lewis, Daily Telegraph 20080707 'A treasure-trove of fascinating information paced into Humphrey Carpenter's riveting history of the world's longest surviving publishing house ...Terrific' -- Val Hennessy, Daily Mail 20080711 'The late Humphrey Carpenter, a delightful and generous-minded man to whose memory I doff my cap, died while still at work on the manuscript of Seven Lives' -- Independent on Sunday 20080711 'The highs and lows of the literary world are reported with panache in this fascinating book. Superb photographs too' -- Tatler 20080711

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: John Murray (July 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0719565324
• ISBN-13: 978-0719565328
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,019,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Look at Two Centuries of British Publishing, March 31, 2009

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Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Seven Lives of John Murray: The Story of a Publishing Dynasty (Hardcover)

This is just a wonderfully informal and informative look at the history of John Murray publishers, first established in London in 1768. The seven lives referred to in the title are the successive John Murrays who headed the house until it was acquired in 2002 by Hodder Headline, though it still is somewhat independent. The history of the book has become a hot topic in recent years, and although this is not an academic treatise, it is just full of information. The famous authors published by Murray seem endless, including Lord Byron, Darwin, Dr. Livingstone, John Betjeman, Freya Stark and Kenneth Clark just to name a few. Murray's was also involved in publishing the "Quarterly Review" and the "Cornhill" periodicals. The book was predominantly researched in Murray's own extensive archives, which were acquired by the National Library of Scotland for over 31 million pounds in 2005, which attests to the historical interest that attaches to the history of the firm. The history of British publishing in the 19th and 20th centuries affords invaluable insights into the intellectual history of the period, and Murray was at the center of it all. Now the reader can be as well.