John Murray (27 November 1778 – 27 June 1843) was a
Scottish publisher and member of the
John Murray publishing house. He published works by authors such as
Sir 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 ...
,
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
,
Jane Austen
Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
and
Maria Rundell.
Life
The publishing house was founded by Murray's father, who died when Murray was only fifteen years old. During his adolescence, he ran the business with a partner Samuel Highley, but in 1803 the partnership was dissolved.
Murray soon began to show the courage in literary speculation which earned for him later the name given him by Lord Byron of "the Anak of publishers", a reference to
Anak
Anak (; , homophone to a word for "giant, long neck, necklace"; ) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. His descendants are mentioned in narratives concerning the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. According to the Book of Numbers, Anak was a foref ...
in the
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers (from Biblical Greek, Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi'', , ''Bəmīḏbar'', ; ) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final f ...
.
In 1807 Murray took a share with
Archibald Constable in publishing Sir Walter Scott's ''
Marmion''. In the same year, he became part-owner of the ''
Edinburgh Review
The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929.
''Edinburgh Review'', ...
'', although with the help of
George Canning he launched in opposition the ''
Quarterly Review
The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...
'' in 1809, with
William Gifford as its editor, and Scott, Canning,
Robert Southey,
John Hookham Frere and
John Wilson Croker among its earliest contributors. He published Croker's popular poem ''
The Battles of Talavera'' in 1809. Murray was closely cooperated with Constable, but ended the association in 1813 due to Constable's business methods that did not work properly.
In 1811, the first two cantos of Lord Byron's ''
Childe Harold'' were brought to Murray by
Robert Charles Dallas, to whom Byron had presented them. Murray paid Dallas 500
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
for the copyright. In 1812, he bought the publishing business of
William Miller (1769–1844), and migrated to 50
Albemarle Street
Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray (publishing house), John Murray was based here, and Oscar ...
. Literary London flocked to his house and Murray became the centre of the publishing world, regularly hosting meetings between authors and friends in his drawing-room.
It was in his drawing-room that Scott and Byron first met, and here, in 1824, after the death of Lord Byron, that the manuscript of his memoirs, considered by Gifford unfit for publication, was destroyed. A close friendship existed between Byron and his publisher, but for political reasons business relations ceased after the publication of the fifth canto of ''
Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women.
The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...
''. Murray paid Byron some £20,000 for his various poems. To
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...
he gave nearly £5,000 for writing the life of Byron, and to
George Crabbe
George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people.
In the 177 ...
£3,000 for ''Tales of the Hall''.
In fiction
The character Prester John in ''John Paterson's Mare'',
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 ...
's allegorical satire on the Edinburgh publishing scene, is based on John Murray.
He is a supporting character in
Susanna Clarke's novel ''
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'', and is played by
John Sessions in
its television adaptation.
Murray features as a character in
Sara Sheridan's Wilbur Smith Prize shortlisted novel ''On Starlit Seas'' ''(2025) as the publisher of
Maria Graham.''
See also
*
Murray's Family Library
Notes
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John
1778 births
1843 deaths
Scottish book publishers (people)
19th-century Scottish newspaper publishers (people)