Rayner Unwin

• 1. A Ten-Year-Old's Recommendation

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  In 1936, a ten-year-old boy named Rayner Unwin sat at his father's desk in Hampstead, London. He held a manuscript titled The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. His job was to read children's books and write reports for the publishing firm George Allen & Unwin. He received one shilling for each report he wrote. That sum felt like good money in those days. Rayner declared the book good enough to publish. No second opinion was needed. If he said it was good, then it was published. The firm released The Hobbit in September 1937.

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• 2. Service And Academic Paths

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  Rayner Unwin attended Abbotsholme School in Rocester between the ages of 10 and 17. After school, he worked as a book salesman for Basil Blackwell. Blackwell had founded a famous bookshop in Oxford. Between 1944 and 1947, Unwin served in East Asia as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He later studied for an undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Oxford. He completed a master's degree in English at Harvard University. He attended Harvard as a Fulbright scholar. These experiences shaped his understanding of literature before he entered full-time publishing.

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• 3. The Lord Of The Rings Gamble

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  Unwin secured the first UK publication of James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. He also published Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl had struggled to find a publisher for these titles in the United Kingdom. His daughter Camilla became captivated by a copy of James and the Giant Peach. Her schoolfriend Tessa Dahl gave her the book. Tessa was Roald Dahl's own daughter. This family connection brought attention to the manuscripts. The books found their way into print through this personal link between two families.

  Sir Stanley died in

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• 4. A Family Connection To Dahl

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  1968, making Rayner Unwin the new chairman of the firm. His older brother David chose to become a children's author instead. David later felt guilty about leaving publishing because it allowed Rayner to take his place. During the 1980s, the firm faced challenges with an £8 million turnover. In 1986, George Allen & Unwin merged with Bell and Hyman to form Unwin Hyman. Robin Hyman fell seriously ill in 1989 while profits declined rapidly. HarperCollins acquired the company in 1990. Unwin resigned as a protest before the

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• 5. Leadership And Corporate Shifts

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  contract was signed. He told friends that he felt he had betrayed his father.

  Unwin married Carol Margaret Curwen on the 3rd of April 1952. Her father Harold owned the Curwen Press. Both families knew each other well because Stanley Unwin and Harold Curwen attended Abbotsholme School together. Their first home was a flat above the Museum Street offices of Allen & Unwin. They later moved to Limes Cottage in Little Missenden. They lived there until their deaths. Rayner died of cancer on the 23rd of November 2000 at the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted. His cremated remains were scattered in the Himalayas by

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• 6. Biographies Of Explorers

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  his daughter. He served as chairman for the annual Little Missenden Music Festival between 1981 and 1988.

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