Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ously by the half- Scot half-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

form – which was also his given name, and ''Jamie'' the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

form). Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as ''Hamish Hamilton''. The Hamish Hamilton imprint is now part of the

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

group.

History and current publishing

Hamish Hamilton Limited originally specialized in fiction, and was responsible for publishing a number of American authors in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, including Nigel Balchin (including pseudonym: Mark Spade), Raymond Chandler, James Thurber, J.D. Salinger, E. B. White and Truman Capote. In 1939 Hamish Hamilton Law and Hamish Hamilton Medical were started but closed during the war. Hamish Hamilton was established in the literary district of

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

and went on to publish many promising British and American authors, many of whom were personal friends and acquaintances of Jamie Hamilton. During the late 1940s Hamish Hamilton Limited published authors including D. W. Brogan,

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

L. P. Hartley Leslie Poles Hartley (30 December 1895 – 13 December 1972) was a British novelist and short story writer. Although his first fiction was published in 1924, his career was slow to take off. His best-known novels are the '' Eustace and Hilda'' ...

, Nancy Mitford,

Alan Moorehead Alan McCrae Moorehead, (22 July 1910 – 29 September 1983) was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, ''The White Nile'' (1960) and ''The Blue Nile'' (196 ...

, Terence Rattigan,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

, Georges Simenon and A. J. P. Taylor. Jamie Hamilton sold the firm to the Thomson Organisation in 1965, who resold it to

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, making Hamish Hamilton an imprint of

. Hamish Hamilton’s aim remains to publish innovative literary fiction and non-fiction from around the world. Authors include:

Alain de Botton Alain de Botton (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and philosopher. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published ''Essays in Love'' (1993) ...

, Bernardine Evaristo,

Esther Freud Esther Freud (born 2 May 1963) is a British novelist. Early life and training Born in London, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and painter Lucian Freud. She is also a great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud and niece of Clement Fr ...

Toby Litt Toby Litt is an English writer and academic in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. Life Litt was born in Ampthill in 1968. He was educated at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxfo ...

, Redmond O'Hanlon,

W. G. Sebald Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by literary critics as one of the g ...

, Zadie Smith,

William Sutcliffe William Sutcliffe (born 9 March 1971) is a British novelist. He has written many acclaimed novels, spanning genres from satire to YA fiction. His 2008 book ''Whatever Makes You Happy'' has been adapted into a 2019 film by Netflix, under the titl ...

, R. K. Narayan, Paul Theroux and John Updike. Hamish Hamilton also publishes an online literary magazine called ''

Five Dials ''Five Dials'' is a digital literary magazine published from London by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Books. Edited by Craig Taylor, ''Five Dials'' features short fiction, essays, letters, poetry, reporting from around the world (humbly ...

''.

Book series

* Antelope Books * Famous Regiments * Fingerprint Books * Hamish Hamilton Paperbacks * Makers of the New World * The Modern Library * The Novel LibraryNovel Library
owu.edu. Retrieved 13 April 2019. * The Little Golden Library - series edited by Herbert Strang. Titles include Scouting Stories (1931), True Adventure Stories (1931), Stories of Great Inventions (1932), Stories of the Sea (1933), Stories of Field and Forest (date unknown).

External links

Hamish Hamilton
- a brief history of the publishing house and its founder
Five Dials
- a literary magazine from Hamish Hamilton

References

{{Penguin Random House Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1931 1986 mergers and acquisitions Penguin Random House