William Hall (19 October 1800 – 7 March 1847) was a British publisher who, with Edward Chapman, founded

Chapman & Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

, publishers for

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

(from 1840 until 1844 and again from 1858 until 1870),

William Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and th ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime. Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabet ...

,Edward Chapman on The Brownings' Correspondence website
/ref>

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...

and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

among others.

Life

Grave of William Hall in Highgate Cemetery

Little is known of his early life. He was born in London, the son of John Hall and his wife, Elizabeth.Robert L. Patten, ‘Hall, William (1800–1847)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 27 Jan 2017
/ref> His brother

Spencer Hall Spencer Hall (6 November 1805 – 21 August 1875) was librarian of the Athenaeum Club, London. Life Hall was born in London in 1805, son of John Hall and his wife Elizabeth. His brother William Hall was a founder of the publisher Chapman and Hall ...

became librarian of the Athenaeum Club. With Edward Chapman (1804-1880) he founded a bookselling and publishing business at 186 Strand, London in 1830, having bought out a small journal called ''Chat Of The Week''. According to Robert L. Patten by 1835 they were publishing illustrated fiction and magazines issued weekly or monthly. Chapman is thought to have had the literary skills to be able to spot a saleable book while Hall had the business acumen to sell it. In 1835 Chapman and Hall published ''Squib Annual of Poetry, Politics, and Personalities'' by the illustrator Robert Seymour. In 1836 Seymour proposed to William Hall that Chapman & Hall should publish a series of sporting illustrations by Seymour with short written sketches linking them together in some way. Further he developed the idea of a 'Nimrod Club' of sporting people having adventures as the framework for the sketches and illustrations. Chapman agreed that the work should be issued in monthly parts, with descriptive text by

. However, Dickens, then only 22, was not the first choice as writer. Charled Whitehead, the senior editor in the publishing house, did not have time to complete the work so recommended Dickens on the basis of his recently published and successful ''

Sketches by Boz ''Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People'' (commonly known as ''Sketches by Boz'') is a collection of short pieces Charles Dickens originally published in various newspapers and other periodicals between 1833 and ...

'', also in a monthly periodical format. Eventually, this became ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to s ...

'', and concerned the adventures of

Samuel Pickwick Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman an ...

and his friends. Following the suicide of Robert Seymour, Dickens suggested to William Hall that

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot ...

should be the new illustrator. In May 1837 ''The Pickwick Papers'' sold over 20,000 copies and Hall sent Dickens a cheque for £500 as a bonus above the agreed payment. By the end of its monthly publications ''Pickwick'' was selling over 40,000 copies a month and Dickens received a further £2,000 bonus with Chapman & Hall making about £14,000 from the publication.William Hall on Sparatcus Educational
/ref>

attended Hall's wedding in 1840, an event he fictionalized for ''Sketches of Young Couples'' which Chapman and Hall published in 1840. There Mr Chirrup (Hall) is described as having the smartness and ‘the brisk, quick manner of a small bird’. Arthur Waugh, ''A Hundred Years of Publishing: Being the Story of Chapman & Hall, Ltd.'', Chapman & Hall, Ltd, London (1930) pg 6 After Dickens spent many "pleasant, playful evenings" at their house in Norwood. Dickens also arranged for his friends such as

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

to be published by

Chapman and Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

and for John Forster to become the literary advisor to the company. William Hall died suddenly at Chapman & Hall's office at 186 Strand, London in March 1847 aged 46. Charles Dickens attended his burial on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

(plot no.539). On Hall's death Edward Chapman's cousin Frederic Chapman began his progress through the ranks of the company, eventually becoming a partner in 1858 and sole proprietor on Edward Chapman's retirement from

in 1866. In the film '' The Man Who Invented Christmas'' (2017) Hall was played by

David McSavage David Andrews (born 5 February 1966), known professionally as David McSavage, is an Irish stand-up comedian, comedy writer and street performer, known for his television show "The Savage Eye".1800 births 1847 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century publishers (people) English book publishers (people) English booksellers Burials at Highgate Cemetery