Sir Algernon Marshall Stedman Methuen, Baronet (23 February 1856 – 20 September 1924) was an English

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

of Classics and French. He is best known for founding the publishing company Methuen & Co.

Background and education

Methuen was born as Algernon Methuen Marshall Stedman in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the third son of John Buck Stedman,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

, and Jane Elizabeth née Marshall. He was educated at

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral ...

and then

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, from which he graduated with an MA.

Career

After graduating from Oxford, Methuen entered teaching, and rose to become head of High Croft Preparatory School at Milford in Surrey from 1890 to 1895.Obituary of Sir Algernon Methuen. The ''Times'', Monday, 22 September 1924; page 18. Issue 43763. While teaching he began, as a sideline, writing a number of school textbooks under the '' nom-de-plume'' A. W. S. Methuen, of which his series on French, Greek and Latin were best known. Among his works were books on gardening and current affairs. In June 1889, Methuen began to publish and market his own textbooks under the label Methuen & Co. (later Methuen Publishing Ltd.). Two months later he formally adopted Methuen as his surname. His first success at publishing came in 1892 with the publication of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's ''

Barrack-Room Ballads The Barrack-Room Ballads are a series of songs and poems by Rudyard Kipling, dealing with the late-Victorian British Army and mostly written in a vernacular dialect. The series contains some of Kipling's best-known works, including the poems " Gu ...

''. He later published works by

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, and Oscar Wilde. Methuen was an outspoken critic of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. He stood for Parliament as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party candidate for the seat of Guildford in the General Election of January 1910. The seat was a safe

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seat and he was unsuccessful. In 1916, he was created a baronet, of Haslemere in Surrey, and he later published his own

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

.
Cambridge University "Janus"''Cambridge Encyclopedia'' Vol. 68
The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library

Personal life

Methuen married Emily Caroline Bedford in 1884. He died in September 1924, aged 68, when the baronetcy became extinct.

Background and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading