Minerva Press was a
publishing house
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 ...
, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It was established by
William Lane
William Lane (6 September 1861 – 26 August 1917) was an English-born journalist, author, advocate of Australian labour politics and a utopian socialist ideologue.
Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family. After showin ...
(c. 1745–1814) at No 33
Leadenhall Street,
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 ...
, when he moved his
circulating library A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) lent books to subscribers, and was first and foremost a business venture. The intention was to profit from lending books to the public for a fee.
Overview
Circulating li ...
there in about 1790.
Publications
The Minerva Press was hugely successful in its heyday, though it had a reputation for sensationalism among readers and critics, and for sharp business practices among some of its competitors. Many of Lane's regular writers were women, including
Regina Maria Roche
Regina Maria Roche (1764–1845) is considered a minor Gothic novel, Gothic novelist, encouraged by the pioneering Ann Radcliffe. However, she was a bestselling author in her own time. The popularity of her third novel, ''The Children of the Abbe ...
(''The Maid of Hamlet'', 1793; ''
Clermont'', 1798);
Eliza Parsons
Eliza Parsons (née Phelp) (1739 – 5 February 1811) was an English Gothic novelist, best known for ''The Castle of Wolfenbach'' (1793) and '' The Mysterious Warning'' (1796). These are two of the seven Gothic titles recommended as reading by a ...
(''
The Castle of Wolfenbach
''The Castle of Wolfenbach'' (1793) is the most famous novel written by the English Gothic novelist Eliza Parsons. First published in two volumes in 1793, it is among the seven "horrid novels" recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Ja ...
'', 1793; ''
The Mysterious Warning'', 1796);
E. M. Foster; and
(''
The Orphan of the Rhine
''The Orphan of the Rhine'' is a gothic novel by Eleanor Sleath, listed as one of the seven "horrid novels" by Jane Austen in her novel ''Northanger Abbey''.
Subtitled "A Romance" it was published in four volumes by the sensationalist Minerva ...
'', 1798) whose Gothic fiction is included in the list of seven "
horrid novels" recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
's ''
Northanger Abbey
''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the ...
''. Six of the ''Northanger'' Seven were published by Minerva. It was still not quite the right thing for a lady to write books, and so many titles were published anonymously, including such novels as ''Count Roderic's Castle'' (1794), ''The Haunted Castle'' (1794), ''The Animated Skeleton'' (1798), the five novels of
Helen Craik
Helen Craik (c. 1751 – 11 June 1825) was a Scottish poet and novelist, and a correspondent of Robert Burns. She praised him for being a "native genius, gay, unique and strong" in an introductory poem to his Glenriddell Manuscripts.
Early life ...
, and ''The New Monk'' (1798), Authors such as
Emma Parker
Emma Parker (pseud. "Emma De Lisle"; '' fl'' 1809–1817) was an Anglo-Welsh novelist of whom very little is known, although her work was generally well-reviewed during her lifetime. Her epistolary novel ''Self-Deception'' explores the cultura ...
("Emma de Lisle") and
Amelia Beauclerc
Amelia Beauclerc (1 January 1790 – 1 March 1820) was a British Gothic novelist.
Life
Beauclerc's life has been described as "invisible."
Writing
It has taken time to establish a complete bibliography for Beauclerk. Her first two novels, ''E ...
, who wrote for Minerva Press in the 1800s, are obscure today, and the market for Minerva's books became negligible after the death of its charismatic founder.
Lane was succeeded as proprietor of the Minerva Press by his partner, Anthony King (A. K.) Newman, who gradually dropped the Minerva name from his books' title pages during the 1820s. Later books published by the press bear the imprint "A. K. Newman & Co."
In the 20th century, the name Minerva Press has appeared at least once, unconnected with the original firm, i.e. Minerva Press, Delhi.
Valancourt Books reprints
Valancourt Books
Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horr ...
began reprinting Minerva Press titles in 2005, beginning with the anonymously published ''The Animated Skeleton'' (1798). They have gone on to print over twenty of these titles, most with scholarly introductions.
Valancourt Books
Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horr ...
br>Minerva Press titles.
/ref>
See also
*List of Minerva Press authors
This is an alphabetical list of authors who published at Minerva Press, or with William Lane before he coined the name, between the founding of the press in 1790 and 1820 or so when Lane's successor, A. K. Newman, dropped "Minerva" from the co ...
*Northanger Horrid Novels
''Northanger Abbey'' () is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's ''The Female Quixote'' (1752). ''Northanger Abbey'' was completed in 1803, the first o ...
Notes
External links
Expanded history of Minerva Press
(about halfway down the page)
collated by Rob Wassell
Rob or ROB may refer to:
Places
* Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia
* Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia
People
* Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn
* Rob ...
, author of ''REM'', published by Minerva Press
Minerva Press was a publishing house, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It was established by William Lane (c. 1745–1814) at No 33 Leadenhall Street, Lon ...
{{Authority control
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom
Gothic fiction