Robert Hale Limited was a London publisher of fiction and non-fiction books, founded in 1936, and also known as Robert Hale. It was based at Clerkenwell House,

Clerkenwell Green Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redis ...

. It ceased trading on 1 December 2015 and its imprints were sold to The Crowood Press.

Robert Hale

Robert Hale was born in 1887/8, and worked in publishing from leaving school.Obituary in ''The Times'' (London, England), Friday, 24 August 1956; page 11; Issue 53618. He was at John Long Ltd., a London firm taken over by Hutchinson & Co. in 1926, when he had become manager there. After the takeover he was managing director of the subsidiary. He moved to Jarrolds Publishing, working with the accountant

S. Fowler Wright Sydney Fowler Wright (6 January 1874 – 25 February 1965) was a British editor, poet, science fiction author, writer of screenplays, mystery fiction and works in other genres, as well as being an accountant and a conservative political activis ...

, another imprint of Hutchinson & Co. In the later 1920s he was a friend of

Margery Allingham Margery Louise Allingham (20 May 1904 – 30 June 1966) was an English novelist from the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", and considered one of its four " Queens of Crime", alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. Alli ...

, a Jarrolds author, and her husband Philip Carter. Hale left Hutchinson & Co. in 1935, founding a company of his own. It was noted for its prolific list, and tight management. His choice of

telegraphic address A telegraphic address or cable address was a unique identifier code for a recipient of telegraph messages. Operators of telegraph services regulated the use of telegraphic addresses to prevent duplication. Rather like a uniform resource locator ( ...

, "

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

", reflected publishing industry cynicism. The partners stated in 1939 were: H. Robert Hale, James Eric Heriot, Theodore MacDonald, and Desmond I. Vesey. Robert Hale died on 20 August 1956, aged 68. His son, John Hale then took over the company.

Early books

Robert Hale and Company early published authors including

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

. ''The Vulgar Streak'' (1941) contained an explanation by Lewis of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, as he explained in a letter to Hale; it was a commission from 1937, working title ''Men at Bay''. In the meantime ''The Mysterious Mr Bull'' (Robert Hale, 1938), a satire against the political left, had appeared. Berthold Brecht's ''

Threepenny Novel ''Threepenny Novel'' (german: Dreigroschenroman) is a 1934 novel by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht, first published in Amsterdam by in 1934 as ', and now as '. It is similar in structure to his more famous ''The Threepenny Opera'' ...

'' appeared in English translation (by Desmond Vesey) in 1937, published by Robert Hale as ''A Penny for the Poor''. Vesey denied to Brecht, on behalf of the publisher, that its political content had been toned down. ''The Spanish Arena'' (1938) by William Foss and

Cecil Gerahty Cecil Echlin Gerahty (1888 – 13 May 1938) was an English journalist for the '' Daily Mail''. Born in Hampton Wick in 1888, his parents were George Marsh and his wife Laura. His younger brothers were the author Digby George Gerahty and the ac ...

had a preface by

Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba, 10th Duke of Berwick, GE (17 October 1878 – 24 September 1953) was a Spanish peer, diplomat, politician, art collector and Olympic medalist. A Jacobite, he was the most senior survivin ...

, then representative in London of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

. Its claims of a "Jewish conspiracy" among journalists opposed to Franco led to legal action by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

. Hale withdrew the book, and an edited edition was published by the

Right Book Club The Right Book Club was an English book club founded in 1937 by Christina and William Foyle to counter the influential Left Book Club, established in 1936 by Victor Gollancz. Origins and character In May 1936 the Left Book Club had been establ ...

. ''Farewell Leicester Square'' by

Betty Miller Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the name, names Bethany (given name), Bethany and Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of ...

was published in 1941. The company went on to publish her three final novels. The firm also published many of the later novels by Eunice Buckley (pseudonym of

Rose Laure Allatini Rose Laure Allatini (23 January 1890 in Vienna — 23 November 1980 in Rye, Sussex) was an Austrian-British novelist who wrote under the pseudonyms R. Allatini, A.T. Fitzroy, Mrs Cyril Scott, Lucian Wainwright, and Eunice Buckley. She is best k ...

). Robert Hale published in hardback in the UK the first four Harold Robbins titles, ''79 Park Avenue'', ''Never Love a Stranger'', ''A Stone for Danny Fisher'' and ''Never Leave Me''. In 1986 it published Robert Goddard's first novel, ''Past Caring''. Other authors published in the UK include James Hadley Chase, John D. MacDonald and

Edward Storey Edward Storey (28 February 1930 – 18 November 2018), was an English poet, dramatist and non-fiction writer. He was born at Whittlesey, part of the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire. The Fens inspired much of his work. Early career Before becomin ...

Authors

Robert Hale and Company published all 90 of the novels of

Jean Plaidy Eleanor Alice Hibbert (née Burford; 1 September 1906 – 18 January 1993) was an English writer of historical romances. She was a prolific writer who published several books a year in different literary genres, each genre under a different pen ...

, the pseudonym of Eleanor Hibbert. ''

The Tivington Nott ''The Tivington Nott'' is a novel by the Australian author Alex Miller and is based on the lives of real people in Somerset on the borders of Exmoor. Miller tells his own story of a young labourer swept up in the adventure of riding second horse ...

'', a semi-autobiographical novel by

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

, was published by Robert Hale, after the appearance of its sequel ''

Watching the Climbers on the Mountain ''Watching the Climbers on the Mountain'' is a novel by the Australian author Alex Miller. It was first published in 1988 by Pan Books Australiand was republished by Allen & Unwin in 2012. Reviews Interviews Jane Sullivan, 'Interview: Alex Mi ...

''. Robert Hale also published the first book by the social scientist Dr

Leo Ruickbie Leo Ruickbie is a British historian and sociologist of religion, specializing in exceptional experiences, paranormal beliefs, magic, witchcraft and Wicca. He is the author of several books, beginning with ''Witchcraft Out of the Shadows'', a ...

in 2004, a non-fiction socio-historical work called ''Witchcraft Out of the Shadows''. The 1965 translation ''The White Rose'' of the 1929 German work by

B. Traven B. Traven (; Bruno Traven in some accounts) was the pen name of a novelist, presumed to be German, whose real name, nationality, date and place of birth and details of biography are all subject to dispute. One certainty about Traven's life is ...

was criticised.

Topographical works

Hale were known for their series on British topography such as the County Books series, The Regions of Britain series, and the

Portrait of A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

series."Rural Mappings"
by Catherine Brace in They also published

Cecil Keeling Cecil Keeling (1912-1976) was an English designer and illustrator. He produced a varied range of work, including scraperboard, lithography and linocuts as well as a number of wood engravings. Keeling was born in Teddington, Middlesex. He first ...

's ''Pictures of Persia'', which contained memoirs from his wartime service there alongside 30 colour plates.

Genre fiction

The company is now known in particular as a specialist

genre fiction Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...

publisher. In the

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

genre, many Robert Hale authors then moved on to

Mills & Boon Mills & Boon is a romance imprint of British publisher Harlequin UK Ltd. It was founded in 1908 by Gerald Rusgrove Mills and Charles Boon as a general publisher. The company moved towards escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. In 1971, the ...

. Over the period 1968 to 1982, the company produced an extended series of hardback science fiction titles, for the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

market. Most of these works were published in the 1970s; they included editions of prominent American writers, some less-known authors, and a number of pseudonymous works. In the field of juvenile travel and adventure literature the company published the World Adventure Series (1958–59).

Western stories

Robert Hale has published many western stories in the Black Horse series. Some of these later appeared in large print editions published by Linford in their Linford Western Library series. Lauran Paine has had some of his writings published by Robert Hale.

Premises

In the early days the company address was 102

Great Russell Street Great Russell Street is a street in Bloomsbury, London, best known for being the location of the British Museum. It runs between Tottenham Court Road (part of the A400 route) in the west, and Southampton Row (part of the A4200 route) in the east ...

. It later moved to 63 Old Brompton Road. The company moved to 45–7 Clerkenwell Green in 1974–5.

Imprints

NAG Books and J. A. Allen (animal and veterinary, sport and games) are its imprints. The latter, founded in 1926 and known for equestrian and hunting titles, was acquired around 1963. Jill Norman brought her list to Robert Hale in the 1980s, including works by

Elizabeth David Elizabeth David CBE (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and bo ...

; but was dismissed from the company in 1984 by John Hale, her name remaining as an imprint. Norman moved on to

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...

References

External links

Robert Hale
- official website in January 2016 (archived copy) *{{cite web, url=http://www.theclerkenwellpost.com/know-well/item/513-pride-prejudice-psycho, title=''Pride & Prejudice & Psycho'' – Clerkenwell Post, access-date=9 July 2015 Publishing companies of the United Kingdom 1936 establishments in England British companies established in 1936 Publishing companies established in 1936