Agnes Joseph Madeline Dillon (8 January 1903 – 4 April 1993), known as Una Dillon, was a British bookseller. She founded

Dillons Booksellers Dillons was a British bookseller founded in 1936, named after its founder and owner Una Dillon. Originally based in Bloomsbury in London, the company expanded under subsequent owners Pentos in the 1980s into a bookselling chain across the United ...

Life

Agnes Joseph Madeline Dillon was born in Cricklewood and she was known as "Una". Dillon was born in Hendon to Teresa and Joseph Thomas Dillon. She was one of six children who their Catholic parents paid to get well educated. The elder brother died during World War I, a sister became a nun and another brother emigrated. Carmen, Agnes (Una) and Teresa were left to fulfil their parent's ambition for them.Jean H. Cook, ‘Dillon, Agnes Joseph Madeline na(1903–1993)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 11 April 2017
/ref> Dillon was working for the charity now known as Mind dealing with books. She enjoyed this and decided to set herself up in business with a bookstore. Her parents lent her money and she bought out a shop which she thought she could improve. Dillon bought

' first building on Gower Street in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, near

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, in 1936. Dillon drove the business forward delivering books by bike within her own target of eight hours. Her business thrived and her customers, and friends, included C. Day Lewis, the poet John Betjeman and other bibliophiles. Dillon subsequently sold the majority of the company to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1956, with the proviso that it used her name. Dillon retired from the business in 1968. None of the three Dillon sisters married and they spent 42 years together in a large flat in Kensington. Tess Dillon had led the physics department at Queen Elizabeth College. In 1985 Una retired to Hove with her sister Carmen. Carmen became a film and production designer who won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for the 1948

Olivier Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...

film of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''.Laurie N. Ede, ‘Dillon, Carmen Joseph (1908–2000)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 11 April 2017
/ref> Una died in 1993. Carmen survived her sister and died in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Agnes British retail company founders English booksellers 1903 births 1993 deaths People from Cricklewood 20th-century English businesspeople