George H. Doran Company (1908–1927) was an American
book publishing
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 ...
company established by George Henry Doran. He organized the company in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and moved it to New York City on February 22, 1908.
The firm prospered, becoming one of the major publishing houses in the United States. The firm published in many genres, from major literary works to "working-class" novels, how to play golf books, religious books, romances, children and juvenile adventure fiction, and poetry. It was the American publisher of many British authors and as part of the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
war effort, the company was the major source for
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
literature, publishing such things as the British Government's ''British War Aims, Statement by the Right Honourable
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
'' as well as Lloyd George's book, ''The Great Crusade''. Doran published a number of other books on the war including two by
James W. Gerard
James Watson Gerard III (August 25, 1867 – September 6, 1951) was a United States lawyer, diplomat, and justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Early life
Gerard was born in Geneseo, New York. His father, James Watson Gerard Jr., was a lawy ...
, the
American Ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...
to Germany.
Among the notable authors published by the George H. Doran Company were
Joyce Kilmer
Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet who ...
,
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...
,
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...
,
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...
,
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
,
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
,
O. Henry
William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...
,
Frank L. Packard
Frank Lucius Packard (February 2, 1877 – February 17, 1942) was a Canadian novelist.
Life
Frank L. Packard was born in Montreal, Quebec and educated at McGill University and the University of Liège. As a young man he worked as a civil enginee ...
,
James J. Montague
James Jackson Montague (April 16, 1873 – December 16, 1941) was an American journalist, satirist, and poet. Renowned as a "versifier", Montague is best known for his column "More Truth Than Poetry", which was published in a wide number of ...
,
Edwin Lefèvre
Edwin Lefèvre (1871–1943) was an American journalist, writer, and diplomat, who is most noted for his writings on Wall Street business.
Biography
Lefèvre was born George Edwin Henry Lefèvre on January 23, 1871 in Colón, Colombia (now ...
,
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.
Woolf was born i ...
,
Frank Harris
Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day.
Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
,
H.G. Wells,
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
,
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...
,
H.L. Mencken
Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
,
John Dos Passos
John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy.
Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...
and
Margery Williams
Margery Williams Bianco (22 July 1881 in London, England – 4 September 1944 in New York City, United States) was an English-American author, primarily of popular children's books. A professional writer since the age of nineteen, she achieved ...
.
Book series published by the George H. Doran Company included the First Novel Library, Hutchinson’s Library of Standard Lives, the Murray Hill Library and Pocket Books.
Pocket Books
owu.edu. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
George H. Doran Company merged with Doubleday, Page & Company
Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...
in 1927, making Doubleday, Doran the largest publishing business in the English-speaking world. The Doran name disappeared in 1946 when the company became known simply as Doubleday & Company.
George H. Doran was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1869. He moved frequently from New York City to London, England during his publishing career, and was well acquainted with most of the writers he published.
In 1935, George Doran wrote ''Chronicles of Barabbas 1884–1934'', that told about the publishing business and its personalities. It was republished in 1952 with ''Further Chronicles and Comment'' added to the title.
References
External links
* George H. Doran,
Chronicles Of Barabbas 1884-1934
', New York: Harcourt, Brace And Company, 1935
*
Publishing companies established in 1908
Publishing companies disestablished in 1927
Defunct book publishing companies of the United States
1908 establishments in New York (state)
1927 disestablishments in New York (state)
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