A Short History of Penguin Books and Why You Should Love Them
One paperback to rule them all
I know that this article will make it appear that I have suddenly been hired by the Penguin Random House marketing department, but I can assure you that this is not the case, though if they were to come knocking, I would listen. Once I had my foot in the door, I would assemble an awesome library smuggling out one book a day, the same way Johnny Cash built that Cadillac in the song “One Piece at a Time.” But I digress.
I am not a Penguin employee, but I am a huge Penguin fan, even more so since the announcement of their Penguin Classics Marvel Collection. There are numerous reasons you should be a fan of theirs too (assuming you’re not already), but first let’s look at a little of the history behind this publishing powerhouse.
In 1934, Allen Lane was the managing editor of the English publisher The Bodley Head (how do the British come up with such great names?). One day, while returning to London after a visit with Agatha Christie, who was one of his authors, he was looking for something to read at the book stalls of Exeter Station and was struck by the fact that nothing was available but pulp novels of poor quality. It was while waiting on his train that he first had the idea of publishing paperback editions of quality literature cheap…
