Who founded Methuen Publishing and when?
Methuen Publishing was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen, who began publishing and marketing his own textbooks as a sideline to teaching. The company started publishing out of London in 1892.
Questions about Methuen Publishing
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was Methuen Publishing's first successful book?
Methuen's first success came in 1892 with the publication of Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads. Growth followed with authors including Marie Corelli, Hilaire Belloc, Robert Louis Stevenson and Oscar Wilde, whose De Profundis appeared in 1905.
Why was Methuen Publishing prosecuted over D. H. Lawrence's The Rainbow?
Methuen was prosecuted for obscenity after publishing D. H. Lawrence's The Rainbow in 1915 and offered no defense, agreeing to destroy the remaining stock of 1,011 copies. One theory holds that the firm withheld support because Lawrence had written an unkind portrait of the chief editor's brother, who had recently been killed in France.
How did Methuen Publishing change the Tintin books for British readers?
Methuen insisted that any Adventures of Tintin book featuring British characters undergo major changes before publication. For The Black Island, first published in French in 1937, Methuen sent Hergé a list of 131 "errors" to correct before releasing its own edition in 1966, and the book was redrawn and reset in the 1960s.
Who led Methuen Publishing after its founder, Algernon Methuen?
E. V. Lucas succeeded Algernon Methuen as chairman in 1924, the same year Methuen died, and led the company until his own death in 1938. Lucas also drew a separate salary as the company's chief reader and signed authors including Enid Blyton, P. G. Wodehouse and Pearl S. Buck.
Who owns the rights to Methuen Publishing's books today?
Penguin Random House now holds the rights to many books originally published under the Methuen name, including the Adrian Mole franchise through Penguin Books. Many of Methuen's academic titles are now published by Routledge, while Methuen Books continues to publish new fiction and non-fiction.