Annals of a Publishing House

The history of one of the most important Scottish publishers, whose books and periodicals dominated the Victorian literary scene.

Margaret Oliphant (Author)

9781108021395, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 November 2010

544 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 3.1 cm, 0.68 kg

Margaret Oliphant (1828–1897) is best known as the author of nearly one hundred novels, but also wrote short stories and biographies. Closely connected with Blackwoods of Edinburgh from 1851, shortly before her death she was commissioned to write a history of the publishing firm by director William Blackwood, grandson of the founder. From small beginnings, the firm had rapidly become the leading Scottish publishing house, dominating the literary world, particularly through Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine and an impressive list of famous authors. These included Thomas de Quincey, Walter Scott, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Magazine introduced the convention of having novels issued in serial form before publication as a book, which became standard practice for authors such as Dickens, Thackeray and Eliot. Volume 1 covers the early career of William Blackwood and the establishment of the firm, its commercial relationships, and the foundation of the Magazine.

1. William Blackwood
2. The tales of my landlord
3. The magazine
4. The world turned upside down
5. John Gibson Lockhart
6. Christopher North
7. The Ettrick shepherd
8. William Maginn
9. Coleridge - De Quincey
10. John Galt - John Wilson Croker
11. Other contributors.

Subject Areas: Publishing industry & book trade [KNTP]