Allen Lane | |
|---|---|
 Lane atLondon Zoo, 1965 | |
| Born | Allen Lane Williams (1902-09-21)21 September 1902 Bristol, England |
| Died | 7 July 1970(1970-07-07) (aged 67) Northwood, London, England |
| Burial place | St Nectan's Church, Hartland |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Known for | Founder ofPenguin Books |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingClare Morpurgo |
| Relatives | John Lane (uncle) |
| Awards |
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Sir Allen LaneCH (bornAllen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a Britishpublisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane foundedPenguin Books in 1935, bringing high-qualitypaperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market.[1][2]
In 1967 he started a hardback imprint under his own name, Allen Lane.
Allen Lane Williams was born inBristol, to Camilla (née Lane) and Samuel Williams, and studied atBristol Grammar School. In 1919 he joined the publishing companyBodley Head as an apprentice to his uncle and founder of the companyJohn Lane. In the process, he and the rest of his family changed their surname to Lane to retain the childless John Lane's company as a family firm.
Lane married Letitia Lucy Orr, daughter ofSir Charles Orr, on 28 June 1941 and had three daughters:Clare, Christine, and Anna. He wasknighted in 1952.
He rose quickly at Bodley Head, becoming managing editor in 1925 following the death of his uncle. After conflict with the board of directors who were wary at first—for fear of being prosecuted—of publishingJames Joyce's controversial bookUlysses, Lane, together with his brothers Richard and John, foundedPenguin Books in 1935 as part of the Bodley Head.
Penguin Books became a separate company the following year.[3] The legend goes that on a train journey back from visitingAgatha Christie in 1934, Lane found himself atExeter St Davids station with nothing available worth reading.[4] He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from avending machine; the first was set up outsideHenderson's inCharing Cross Road and dubbed the "Penguincubator".[5] Lane was also well aware of theHamburg publisherAlbatross Books and adopted many of its innovations.
Most booksellers and authors were against the idea of paperbacks. They believed that paperbacks would result in individuals spending less money on books. Lane was very stubborn when it came to his company; he operated mainly on intuition and imagination. "He thrived in an atmosphere of crisis and came most fully alive under the challenge of great dilemmas."[6] He was a creative genius in that once he had an idea he would not stop until it came to fruition. Once he decided on creating paperbacks he set about in deciding what the books should look like and finding a name. He had decided that the books would be reprints so he also needed to approach other publishers to see if they and their authors would be willing to sublease the rights of the books. He was quoted as saying, "I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not also be well designed, for good design is no more expensive than bad."[7][8]
Edward Young designed the horizontal bands and used Gill Sans Bold for the title's letting. He was also sent to the Zoo in Regents Park to sketch penguins for the cover. Allen Lane wanted a cover design that was consistent and easily recognizable. In 1937 the font was changed to Times New Roman. HisPelican Books were non-fiction books. Penguins were meant to entertain while Pelicans were meant to enlighten. In the 1950s his company had grown so much that it had major outposts in both Australia and the United States. Lane's management style put him and the individuals in charge in his United States office at odds. These individuals eventually left Penguin Books and started their own publishing companies:Bantam Books andNew American Library.[6]
The paperback venture was extremely successful, and he expanded into other areas such asPelican Books in 1937,Puffin Books in 1940 and thePenguin Classics series in 1945. Lane was responsible for the decision to publish an unexpurgated edition ofD. H. Lawrence'sLady Chatterley's Lover as a means of testing theObscene Publications Act 1959.
In 1965, during an attempt by chief editorTony Godwin and the board of directors to remove him, Lane stole andburnt the entire print run of the French cartoonistSiné's bookMassacre, which was reportedly deeply offensive.[9]
Lane dismissed Godwin, and retained control of Penguin, but was forced to retire shortly afterwards after being diagnosed withbowel cancer. He died in 1970 atNorthwood,Middlesex.[10]
In 2010,Penguin Random House Canada launched an imprint named for Allen Lane to publish prestige non-fiction by established authors.[11]
