John Murray the elder was one of the founding sponsors of the London evening newspaperThe Star in 1788.[3]
John Murray II
He was succeeded by his sonJohn Murray II, who made the publishing house important and influential. He was a friend of many leading writers of the day and launched theQuarterly Review in 1809. He was the publisher ofJane Austen, SirWalter Scott,Washington Irving,George Crabbe,Mary Somerville and many others. Murray's home and office at 50Albemarle Street inMayfair was the centre of a literary circle, fostered by Murray's tradition of "four o'clock friends", afternoon tea with his writers.
Murray's most notable author wasLord Byron, who became a close friend and correspondent of his. Murray published many of his major works, paying him over £20,000 in rights. On 10 March 1812, Murray published Byron's second book,Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, which sold out in five days, leading to Byron's observation: "I awoke one morning and found myself famous".
On 17 May 1824, Murray participated in one of the most notorious acts in the annals of literature. Byron had given him the manuscript of his personal memoirs to publish later on. Together with five of Byron's friends and executors, he decided to destroy Byron's manuscripts because he thought the scandalous details would damage Byron's reputation. With onlyThomas Moore objecting, the two volumes of memoirs were dismembered and burnt in the fireplace at Murray's office.[4] It remains unknown what they contained.
His son Sir John Murray V (1884–1967), grandson John Murray VI (John Arnaud Robin Grey Murray, known asJock Murray; 1909–1993)[7][8] and great-grandson John Murray VII (John Richmond Grey Murray; 1941–) continued the business until it was taken over.
In 2002, John Murray was acquired byHodder Headline, which was itself acquired in 2004 by the French conglomerateLagardère Group. Since then, it has been an imprint under Lagardère brandHachette UK.[9]
In 2015, business publisher Nicholas Brealey became an imprint of John Murray.[10]
1768 – John MacMurray, a former lieutenant of the Marines, buys a bookselling business at 32Fleet Street. He changes his name to Murray and uses his naval contacts to build up a thriving business.
1849 – A groundbreaking observational study on theSikhpeople is published.[18] This comprehensive account arguably foreshadowed theBritish Empire's first large-scale attempt at using the scientific method to civilise populations; this methodological approach later became known asEugenics.
1857 –David Livingstone'sMissionary Travels – one of the many great 19th-century publications of exploration from John Murray
1865 –Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries; and of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa. 1858–1864 by David and Charles Livingstone[19]
1871 –Edward Whymper,Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–69, the first ascent of theMatterhorn in 1865
1891 – Edward Whymper,Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator, two volumes recording ascents in the Ecuadorian Andes ofChimborazo,Cotopaxi,Cayambe, and other Andean Peaks
1934 –Alpine Pilgrimage byJulius Kugy (1st edition (English), 1934), Klugy's literary masterpiece on theJulian Alps of Slovenia as translated by H. E. G. Tyndale (Henry Edmund Guise Tyndale)
2003 – The first new acquisition since the company became part of Hodder Headline (now Hachette),A Million Little Pieces byJames Frey, becomes a perennial and controversial bestseller
2004 – Rebirth of the John Murray fiction list withNeil Jordan'sShade
2012 –Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure byArtemis Cooper is shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award, the Waterstone's Book of the Year Award and the National Book Awards Biography of the Year[citation needed]
^Nichols, John Treadwell (1812)."(Printers and booksellers)".Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century. Vol. 3. London: Printed for the author, by Nichols, Son, and Bentley.OCLC1138961.
^["Life and Works of Charlotte Bronte and Her Sisters" + Murray "Life and Works of Charlotte Bronte and Her Sisters" + Murray], worldcat.org. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
Keighren, I. M.; Withers, C. W. J.; Bell, B. (2015).Travels into print: exploration, writing, and publishing with John Murray, 1773-1859.University of Chicago Press.
1 Louis Hachette Group (via Lagardère SA) owns these brands in the United Kingdom only. These brands are owned byScholastic Corporation in the United States.
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