Manor Books was an American publisher of paperback books. It was founded by Walter Weidenbaum in 1972 and based in New York City. Manor's library was built on assets purchased from

Macfadden Publications Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century. History Macfadden Publ ...

after the latter opted to exit the paperback business, and expanded with original titles. Manor ceased activities in 1981.

Catalogue

The company's reprints were headlined by names who had previously graced the covers of Macfadden books, like

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

and

A.E. Van Vogt Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction author. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of the ...

. Reprints of more minor works were sometimes packaged to highlight thematic connections with otherwise unrelated mainstream entertainment properties. Most of the company's original catalogue consisted of novels in the thriller and men's adventure genre, competing with the likes of

Leisure Books Leisure Books was a mass market paperback publisher specializing in horror and thrillers that operated from 1957 to 2010. In the company's early years, it also published fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, and the Wildlife Treasury card series ...

Lancer Books Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularl ...

and later

Pinnacle Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender ...

, whom Weidenbaum had helped launch before divesting himself of his shares. Prolific author

Robin Moore Robert Lowell Moore Jr. (October 31, 1925 – February 21, 2008) was an American writer who wrote '' The Green Berets'', '' The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy'', and with Xaviera Hollander and ...

( ''The Green Berets'', ''The French Connection'') wrote several books for Manor and was arguably its most famous contributor. The company, like other paperback publishers, espoused a franchise-driven business model. Many series heroes were reminiscent of the 1970s movie tough guys epitomized by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

and

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

. Perhaps the best remembered are ''Keller'' by

Nelson DeMille Nelson Richard DeMille (born August 23, 1943) is an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include '' Plum Island'', '' The Charm School'', and '' The Gold Coast''. DeMille has also written under the pen names Jack ...

('' The General's Daughter''), a rework of the Joe Stryker novels DeMille wrote for Leisure Books, and ''The Enforcer'', which Manor took over from ailing Lancer Books. Another series, ''Mace'' by Lee Chang, was one of the first to capitalize on the popularity of Asian

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

. In actuality, Chang was a pseudonym for Jewish-American paperback original veteran Joseph Rosenberger. Under his real name, Rosenberger penned

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

-style books starring the African-American anti-hero Louis Luther King ''The Murder Master''. The company also released biographies. Titles exhumed from the Macfadden vaults included the memoirs of

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

and

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

, while Manor would commission new titles to cash in on recent events involving a celebrity. Several of them were written by ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' scribe George Carpozi. The company made overture towards female readers with its ''King Size Gothic'' line dedicated to

paranormal romance Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the speculative fiction ...

, a popular subject at the time. The name was both an indication of the books' somewhat generous content in comparison to most paperback original novels, and a ripoff of the ''Queen Size Gothic'' collection by rival

Popular Library Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another P ...

Guaranteed Satisfaction

A marketing gimmick used by Manor was the ''Seal of Guaranteed Reader Satisfaction'', which offered compensation if the customer was not pleased with his purchase.

References

{{reflist Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1961