Person    | Male  Born 21/9/1902  Died 7/7/1970

Allen Lane

Publisher. Born as Allen Lane Wlliams in Bristol. His uncle was John Lane, founder of the Bodley Head publishing house who took him into the business. By 1930 he had risen to the position of chairman. He successfully fought to have James Joyce's 'Ulysses' published in Britain for the first time. Legend has it that while waiting for a train following a visit to Agatha Christie, he realised that there was a dearth of reading material available. This gave him the idea of producing high quality, cheaply priced paperbacks, This led to the founding of Penguin books, which became an immediate success. It was his decision to publish D.H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' in 1960. This led to the famous trial under the Obscene Publications Act. The verdict went in his favour, and heralded the way to more open literary expression. Knighted in 1952. He died in Mt Vernon Hospital, Northwood.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Allen Lane

Commemorated ati

Allen Lane

Here, 50 years ago, Allen Lane published his first paperbacks, thereby changi...

Read More

Other Subjects

Ruth First

Ruth First

South African freedom fighter. Born Johannesburg. Married Slovo in 1949; the writer Gillian Slovo is their daughter. Killed by a parcel bomb addressed to her in Mozambique where she was living in e...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, Nationalism, Race Issues, Africa, South Africa

1 memorial
The Sun

The Sun

Launched to replace the Daily Herald. First printed at Bouverie Streeet, south of Fleet Street. The Sun's website refused to let us have a picture of their logo so we went elsewhere for it. Whic...

Media, Journalism / Publishing

2 memorials
William Rees-Mogg

William Rees-Mogg

Editor of The Times 1967-81. Also High Sheriff of Somerset in the late 1970s. Chairman of the Arts Council in the 1980s. Vice-Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors. In 1988 he became Baron Rees-Mo...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Sir David Low

Sir David Low

Cartoonist and caricaturist. Born David Alexander Cecil Low in Dunedin, New Zealand. He worked for several newspapers, before coming to London and joining the 'Star'. In 1927 he moved to the Evenin...

Person, Art, Journalism / Publishing, New Zealand

2 memorials
George Holyoake

George Holyoake

Radical journalist, secularist and promoter of the Co-operative Movement. Born Birmingham as George Jacob Holyoake. He coined the term "secularism" in 1851 and "jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secul...

Person, Journalism / Publishing

1 memorial