Thomas Fisher Unwin (24 January 1848 – 6 February 1935) was an English publisher who founded the publishing house of

T. Fisher Unwin T. Fisher Unwin was the London publishing house founded by Thomas Fisher Unwin, husband of British Liberal politician Jane Cobden in 1882. Unwin was a co-founder of the Johnson Club, formed 13 September 1884, to mark the hundred years since the ...

Early life and career

Thomas Fisher Unwin was born on 24 January 1848 in 33 Lowgate Hill, London. He was the son of the printer Jacob Unwin (1802–1855), who was the founder of the firm Unwin Brothers and of the Gresham Press, and of his wife, Isobel, (née Hall). He attended the City of London School and then worked for the London publishing firm, Jackson, Walford, and Hodder (which was the predecessor firm of

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

). In 1882, he founded his own publishing firm, T. Fisher Unwin. In 1885, he started a British book series titled ''The Story of the Nations''. It reflected his views, which were liberal and internationalist; and also his wife's interest in

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and suffragism. The series was published in the USA by

G. P. Putnam G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, though not in identical form. In 1896, he jointly founded The Publishers Association.

Personal life

He was married to

Jane Cobden Emma Jane Catherine Cobden (28 April 1851 – 7 July 1947), known as Jane Cobden, was a British Liberal politician who was active in many radical causes. A daughter of the Victorian reformer and statesman Richard Cobden, she was an early ...

, the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, daughter of the Victorian reformer and statesman Richard Cobden. His nephew, Stanley Unwin, founded the publishing firm

George Allen and Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

. He died in Midhurst,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

on 6 February 1935.

Works

Some editions of T. Fisher Unwin: * '' The Story of the Nations'' (1885–1905, 1st ed.; 1911, 2nd ed.), 65 Volumes. * ''The Story of a Puppet'' or '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1892), by Carlo Collodi. * ''The English Peasant'' (1893), by Richard Heath. * ''The Tales of John Oliver Hobbes'' (1894), by

John Oliver Hobbes Pearl Mary Teresa Richards (November 3, 1867 – August 13, 1906) was an Anglo-American novelist and dramatist who wrote under the pen-name of John Oliver Hobbes. Though her work fell out of print in the twentieth-century, her first book ''Som ...

. * ''By Reef and Palm'' (1894, 1st ed.; 1916, 7th ed.), by Louis Becke. * ''My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus'' (1895), by Albert Frederick Mummery. * ''

Man and Maid ''Man and Maid'' is a lost 1925 drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger based on a 1922 novel by Elinor Glyn. The film stars Lew Cody, Renée Adorée and Harriet Hammond. Plot Boulevardier Sir Nicholas Thormonde (Lew Cody) has to choose betw ...

'' (1906), by E. Nesbit. * ''The Slave Girl of Agra'' (1909), by Romesh Chunder Dutt. * ''Life of Tolstoy'' (1911), by Romain Rolland. * ''Confiscation in Irish history'' (1917), by William Francis Thomas Butler.

References

External links

*
T. Fisher (Thomas Fisher) Unwin: An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
finding aid at The University of Texas at Austin * 1848 births 1935 deaths Publishers (people) from London {{publish-bio-stub

Early life and career

Personal life

Works

Further reading

References

External links