A Victorian Publisher A Study of the Bentley Papers

This is a study of the rise and activity of the London publishing house which started in 1829 as Bentley and Colburn and was finally absorbed by Macmillan in 1898. Professor Gettmann has worked from the surviving papers of the firm and it is probable that he has here given more detail about the aims, methods and successes of an English publisher of the time than can be found anywhere else. Since there is constant reference from the activities of Bentley to that of his contemporaries, it is also a microcosm of English authorship and publishing from the time of Scott to that of Meredith: one of the great period of English publishing enterprise. It discusses movements of taste and cycles of popular reading and illustrates the relationship between publisher and author. It also deals with authors' contracts and rewards and in short, deals with every aspect of English publishing in an important period.

Preface; Introduction; 1. A brief history of the House of Bentley; 2. The march of intellect; 3. Puffing; 4. Agreements; 5. Profit and loss; 6. Work of art or article of commerce?; 7. The publisher's reader; 8. The three-decker; Index.

This is a study of the rise and activity of the London publishing house which started in 1829 as Bentley and Colburn and was finally absorbed by Macmillan in 1898. Professor Gettmann has worked from the surviving papers of the firm and gives more details of the aims, methods and successes of an English publisher than can be found anywhere else.