George Platt Brett Jr. (December 9, 1893 – February 11, 1984) served at Chairman of the American division of

Macmillan Publishing Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

and secured

publishing rights A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish original content by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works. In the case of music p ...

to ''

Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''.

Biography

Career

George Brett started with Macmillan in 1913 as a traveling salesman and took over as President of Macmillan in 1931. Brett took over as chairman in 1936 after the death of his father,

George Platt Brett Sr. George Platt Brett Sr. (8 December 1858 – 18 September 1936) was a British-born chairman and publisher of the American division of Macmillan Publishing. He was best known for serving as publisher, friend, and mentor of American author Jack Lon ...

Brett is best known for having "scored one of publishing's all-time triumphs by gaining the rights to '

.' The success of ''Gone with the Wind'' from 1935-1936 lead to bonuses of 18% to all employees at Macmillan. Additional literary success under Brett were Rachael Filed's ''All This'' and ''Heaven Too'' and Katleen Winsor's ''Forever Amber''. In addition, Brett published notable authors

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

and

Marianne Moore Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit. Early life Moore was born in Kirkwood, ...

. In 1939, Brett promoted a special motion picture edition of ''Gone with the Wind'' at the same time the film was being released. Brett was the first to introduce marketing a book and movie at the same time. This was perhaps the earliest instance in the book publishing industry of the "

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

," a marketing strategy which involves a mass media commodity appearing simultaneously in several formats that advertise each other. In 1944 Brett fought efforts by the British Publisher Bureau to corner the American market for British publishing houses. In 1951, Brett bought the US division from

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

based Macmillan Publishing. At this time Macmillan was the second largest publisher in the United States Brett was succeeded by his son, Bruce Y. Brett in 1958.

Military and Public Service

*From 1916 to 1919, he served with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

on the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

border and then in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

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 ...

. Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Infantry, August 15, 1917, promoted 1st Lieutenant, January 12, 1918 and Captain, August 22, 1918. *Served as chairman of the book committee of the

People to People Student Ambassador Program The People to People Student Ambassador Program was a travel service based in Spokane, Washington, offering domestic and international travel opportunities to middle and high school students. The group was founded in 1956, during the Eisenhower a ...

United States President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

established in 1956. *Serve on missions for the

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and postwar

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Memberships

*Member of the Players Club

Personal life

Brett was born in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any n ...

and attended the

Salisbury School Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is ''The Cupola''. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The school's motto is ''Esse quam vider ...

in his home state and the Collegiate School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Brett was married to Isabel Stevenson Yeomans. He died in 1984.

Bibliography

*"The role of books in inter-American relations" by George Platt Brett (Unknown Binding - 1943) *The growth and care of cultivated evergreens: An address delivered before the Garden Club of Fairfield on May 26, 1931 (Unknown Binding)

Additional information

*Chronicles of Barabbas 1884–1934 By George H. Doran *The House of Macmillan (1843–1943) by Charles Morgan *The Structure of International Publishing in the 1990s By Fred Kobrak, Beth Luey
''New York Times'' article "Stefansson a Hero to British Public: George P. Brett back from London with a glowing account of the Young Explorers Success, printed on April 13, 1913''New York Times'' March 13, 1913 article about Brett book "Book publishing and its present tendencies"

References

Sources

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, George Platt Jr. 1893 births 1984 deaths American book publishers (people) United States Army personnel of World War I People from Darien, Connecticut Collegiate School (New York) alumni United States Army officers