William Blackwood and Sons was a Scottish

publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and printer founded by

William Blackwood William Blackwood (20 November 177616 September 1834) was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood and Sons. Life Blackwood was born in Edinburgh on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of boo ...

in 1804. It played a key role in literary history, publishing many important authors, for example

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

, George Tomkyns Chesney,

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910) and '' A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous shor ...

, John Galt,

John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...

Thomas De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; Thomas Penson Quincey; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his ''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821).Eaton, Horace Ainsworth, ''Thomas De Q ...

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for the 1861 historical novel '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Sco ...

, Margaret Oliphant,

John Hanning Speke Captain John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an English explorer and army officer who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and was the first Eu ...

and

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

, both in books and in the monthly ''

Blackwood’s Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinbu ...

''.

History

In 1804 William Blackwood opened a shop in South Bridge Street, Edinburgh, for the sale of old, rare and curious books. He undertook the Scottish agency for John Murray and other London publishers, and gradually drifted into publishing on his own account, moving in 1816 to

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. On 1 April 1817 the first number of the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'' was published, which on its seventh number became ''

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinbu ...

''. "''Maga''," as this magazine soon came to be called, was the organ of the Scottish

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

party, and round it gathered a host of able writers. In May 1824 ''Blackwood's'' became the first British literary journal to publish work by an American with an essay by

that got reprinted across Europe. Over the following year and a half the magazine published Neal's ''

American Writers The Lists of American writers include: United States By ethnicity *List of African-American writers *List of Asian American writers, List of Asian-American writers *List of Cuban American writers, List of Cuban-American writers *List of Egypti ...

'' series, which is the first written history of American literature. The relationship between Blackwood and Neal fell apart over Neal's novel '' Brother Jonathan'', which Blackwood published at a loss in late 1825. In 1829 he wrote to his son William in India telling him that he was moving from Princes Street to 45 George Street as George Street was "becoming more and more a place of business and the east end of Princes Street is now like

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, a mere place for coaches". His brother Thomas bought 43 and in 1830 Thomas Hamilton remodelled the entire frontage of the pair for the Blackwood Brothers or Messrs. Blackwood. Thomas's shop operated as a silk merchant. William Blackwood died in 1834 and is buried in an ornate vault in the lower western section of

Old Calton Cemetery The Old Calton Burial Ground is a cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Scots, including philosoph ...

. He was succeeded by his two sons, Alexander and Robert, who added a London branch to the firm. In 1845 Alexander Blackwood died, and shortly afterwards Robert. A younger brother, John Blackwood succeeded to the business; later he was joined by his brother Major William Blackwood, who continued in the firm until his death in 1861, when his elder son, William Blackwood III (born 1836), was taken into partnership. On the death of John Blackwood, William Blackwood III was left in sole control of the business. With him were associated his nephews, George William and JH Blackwood, sons of Major George Blackwood, who was killed at Maiwand in 1880. The last member of the Blackwood family to run the company was Douglas Blackwood. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Blackwood was a fighter pilot and at the height of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

recalled looking down from 25,000 feet to see the firm's London office in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row is a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area call ...

ablaze. Millions of books were lost in the fire and the destruction of Blackwood's base in the City of London marked the beginning of the firm's decline. He retired in 1976 and by 1980 the firm had amalgamated.

Books first published by Blackwood

*''

Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Ed ...

'' (from 1808), editor

David Brewster Sir David Brewster Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, KH President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA Scot Fellow of the Scottish Society of ...

*''The Pilgrim of the Sun'', (1814)

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots language, Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a ...

*''

Mador of the Moor ''Mador of the Moor'' is a narrative poem by James Hogg, first published in 1816. Consisting of an Introduction, five cantos, and a Conclusion, it runs to more than two thousand lines, mostly in the Spenserian stanza. Set in late medieval Scotland ...

'', (1816), James Hogg *'' The Black Dwarf'' (1816),

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

*'' Brother Jonathan: or, the New Englanders'' (1825),

*'' The Course of Time'' (1827), Robert Pollok *'' Ten Thousand a-Year'' (1841), Samuel Warren *'' Scenes of Clerical Life'' (1857),

**
Scenes of Clerical Life
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *''

Adam Bede ''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel ...

'' (1859), George Eliot **
Adam Bede
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *'' The Lifted Veil'' (1859), George Eliot **
The Lifted Veil
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *''

The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in three volumes on 4 April 1860 by William Blackwood and Sons. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Pub ...

'' (1860), George Eliot **
The Mill on the Floss
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *''

Silas Marner ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is the third novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It was published on 2 April 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism a ...

'' (1861), George Eliot **
Silas Marner
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *'' Felix Holt, the Radical'' (1866), George Eliot **
Felix Holt, the Radical
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'' (1871–8172), George Eliot **
Middlemarch
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society of ...

'' (1876), George Eliot **
Daniel Deronda
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
George Eliot Archive
' *'' Impressions of Theophrastus Such'' (1879), George Eliot **
Impressions of Theophrastus Such
' free PDF of Blackwood's 1878 Cabinet Edition (the critical standard with Eliot's final corrections) at the
''George Eliot Archive''
' *'' The Fixed Period'' (1882),

*''Scottish land-names; their origin and meaning'' (1894), Herbert Maxwell *'' The Lost Stradivarius'' (1895), J. Meade Falkner *'' My Brilliant Career'' (1901),

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel ''My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While s ...

*''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

'' (1902),

*'' William Wetmore Story and His Friends'' (1903),

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

*''

Where Angels Fear to Tread ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' is a 1905 novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's poem ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 ...

'' (1905),

*''Significant Etymology: Or, Roots, Stems, and Branches of the English Language'' (1908), James Mitchell *''

Prester John Prester John () was a mythical Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Church of the East, Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian state, Christian ...

'' (1910),

*''

The Thirty-Nine Steps ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'' is a 1915 adventure novel by the Scottish literature, Scottish author John Buchan, first published by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. It was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Argosy (magazine)#The All-Story, ...

'' (1915), John Buchan *'' The Power-House'' (1916), John Buchan *''The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa'' (1922), Frederick D. Lugard *'' The Courts of the Morning'' (1929), John Buchan *'' The Curve of Time'' (1961), M. Wylie Blanchet

Book series published by Blackwood

* Ancient Classics for the English Reader * Foreign Classics for the English Reader * Periods of European Literature * Philosophical Classics for the English Reader

Works originally published in ''Blackwood's Magazine''

*'' Noctes Ambrosianae'' (1822 to 1835),

John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...

William Maginn William Maginn (10 July 1794 – 21 August 1842) was an Irish journalist and writer. About Born at Cork he became a contributor to ''Blackwood's Magazine'', and after moving to London in 1824 became for a few months in 1826 the Paris correspond ...

, John Wilson et al. *''

'' (1824–1825),

*'' On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts'' (1827),

*'' The Iron Shroud'' (1830),

William Mudford William Mudford (8 January 1782 – 10 March 1848) was a British writer, essayist, translator of literary works and journalist. He also wrote critical and philosophical essays and reviews. His 1829 novel ''The Five Nights of St. Albans: A Romanc ...

*'' The English Mail-Coach'' (1849), Thomas De Quincey *'' The Battle of Dorking'' (1871), George Tomkyns Chesney *'' The Fixed Period'' (1881),

*''

'' (1898),

*''

Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' is an 1899 novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgium, Belgian company in the African interior. Th ...

'' (1899), Joseph Conrad *'' Lord Jim'' (1899), Joseph Conrad *'' The Highwayman'' (1906),

Alfred Noyes Alfred Noyes Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (16 September 188025 June 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright. Early years Noyes was born in Wolverhampton, England the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams No ...

*'' The Power-House'' (1913),

References

;Attribution *

History

Books first published by Blackwood

Book series published by Blackwood

Works originally published in ''Blackwood's Magazine''

See also

References

Further reading