Rayner Unwin
Encyclopedia
Rayner Stephens Unwin was the son of publisher Sir Stanley Unwin
of the publishing firm George Allen & Unwin.
Young Unwin was a test subject for the firm; his father believed that children were the best judges of what made good children's books. He was paid one shilling for each written report, and in Rayner Unwin's own words, it was "good money in those days". In 1936, at the age of 10, he was asked to review The Hobbit
, a book by J.R.R. Tolkien
:
"Not a very good piece of literary criticism," Rayner Unwin later said of the report, "but in those happy days, no second opinion was needed; if I said it was good enough to publish, it was published."
George Allen & Unwin published The Hobbit in September 1937. Rayner Unwin entered publishing himself around 1951, and was offered the manuscript for The Lord of the Rings
. He thought it ought to be published as well, and writing to his father with the figures, he said he thought they might lose a thousand pounds. Sir Stanley wrote back, saying "If you think this to be a work of genius, then you may lose a thousand pounds."
Unwin was also responsible for dividing the book into three volumes, an idea of which Tolkien disapproved. However, the division made the book less unwieldy and its price more accessible to consumers. Unwin took over as chairman of the publishing firm in 1968, upon the death of his father. In 1999, he published a memoir of the family firm, George Allen & Unwin: A Remembrancer.
Stanley Unwin (publisher)
Sir Stanley Unwin was a British publisher, founder of the George Allen and Unwin house in 1914. This published serious and sometimes controversial authors like Bertrand Russell and Mahatma Gandhi....
of the publishing firm George Allen & Unwin.
Young Unwin was a test subject for the firm; his father believed that children were the best judges of what made good children's books. He was paid one shilling for each written report, and in Rayner Unwin's own words, it was "good money in those days". In 1936, at the age of 10, he was asked to review The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, a book by J.R.R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
:
- "Bilbo BagginsBilbo BagginsBilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
was a HobbitHobbitHobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
who lived in his Hobbit hole and never went for adventures, at last GandalfGandalfGandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
the wizard and his Dwarves persuaded him to go. He had a very exciting time fighting goblins and wargs. At last they get to the lonely mountain; SmaugSmaugSmaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
, the dragon who guards it is killed and after a terrific battle with the goblins he returned home — rich! - This book, with the help of maps, does not need any illustrations it is good and should appeal to all children between the ages of 5 and 9."
"Not a very good piece of literary criticism," Rayner Unwin later said of the report, "but in those happy days, no second opinion was needed; if I said it was good enough to publish, it was published."
George Allen & Unwin published The Hobbit in September 1937. Rayner Unwin entered publishing himself around 1951, and was offered the manuscript for The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. He thought it ought to be published as well, and writing to his father with the figures, he said he thought they might lose a thousand pounds. Sir Stanley wrote back, saying "If you think this to be a work of genius, then you may lose a thousand pounds."
Unwin was also responsible for dividing the book into three volumes, an idea of which Tolkien disapproved. However, the division made the book less unwieldy and its price more accessible to consumers. Unwin took over as chairman of the publishing firm in 1968, upon the death of his father. In 1999, he published a memoir of the family firm, George Allen & Unwin: A Remembrancer.