William Tinsley
Encyclopedia
William Tinsley was a British publisher. The son of a gamekeeper
, he had little formal education; but together with his brother Edward (1835 – 1865) he founded the firm of Tinsley Brothers, which published many of the leading novelists of the time.
, north of London, the second of ten children. Although his mother (born Sarah Dover, the daughter of a local vet) could read and write well, his father William (born 1800), a gamekeeper, did not value education, and his son only attended school for a few years. By the age of nine he was doing day jobs, such as bird scaring, in the fields.
In 1852, at the age of seventeen, William's younger brother Edward moved to London to take up work in the Nine Elms
engineers' workshop of the London and South Western Railway
. A few months later William followed him, walking from South Mimms to Notting Hill
, where he quickly found work and lodging. Both brothers were fond of books: William spent his evenings looking looking through bookshops and Edward quit his job with the railway to work for a small magazine Diogenes. In 1854 the brothers founded Tinsley Brothers, although the firm's formal foundation seems to date to 1858. William, now an established businessman, married Louisa Rowley (1830 – 25 December 1899) on 26 April 1860. The couple would go on to have six daughters.
After a slow start, the firm had its first major success with Mary Elizabeth Braddon
's first novel Lady Audley's Secret
in 1862. The book was hugely profitable for Tinsley Brothers and started an association of the firm with sensation novels
, continued in other novels by Mrs. Braddon, Ouida
and Sheridan Le Fanu
, and perhaps most significantly The Moonstone
by Wilkie Collins
.
In 1866, Edward died of a stroke, leaving William to manage the firm alone. He continued to publish new authors, with, most notably, the first books of Thomas Hardy
and G. A. Henty
and the first novels of Richard Jefferies
. In both Hardy's and Jefferies' case, he let the authors take a part of the risk, asking the former for ₤75, the latter for ₤60 to guarantee the costs. Hardy had brought Desperate Remedies (1871) to Tinsley because of the firm's reputation as a publisher of sensation novels; but the book (like Jefferies' early novels) was not a success and Hardy regained only ₤59, 12s., 6d. from his original ₤75. Despite this experience, Hardy returned to Tinsley with Under the Greenwood Tree (1872). Tinsley bought the copyright for £30, but again was unable to sell it. A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) was yet another commercial failure; and later books by Hardy came out (more successfully) with other publishers. In old age, Tinsley recounted that he never had the offer of Far from the Madding Crowd (1874); but his assistant Edmund Downey remembered Tinsley telling him that Hardy had come to him detailing the rival offer:
Shortly after his brother's death, Tinsley added a new venture to the firm, Tinsleys' Magazine. Shilling magazines were then very popular; and after failing to buy Temple Bar Magazine, Tinsley founded his own in 1867. The magazine published short fiction and serializations of books that Tinsley Brothers were bringing out, including Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes. The magazine ran from 1868 to 1884, edited first by the writer Edmund Yates, then by Tinsley, finally by Tinsley's assistant Edmund Downey. It was never a success and often had disastrous losses; but Tinsley saw it as a useful advertisement for the firm's books.
The final decades of the firm were marked by repeated financial crises; and in 1887, Tinsley Brothers had liabilities of ₤1,000. The few books dated 1888 from the firm are presumably orders already placed with the printers before bankruptcy. Tinsley survived his firm by fourteen years and towards the end was able to give a picture of Victorian publishing life in Random Recollections of an Old Publisher (1900). He died of chronic Bright's disease
at his home in Wood Green
on 1 May 1902.
Tinsley was an unorthodox businessman, often working without formal agreements; and what he saw as fair dealing might come across as sharp practice to those who lost by it. But he could also be generous and had a genuine enthusiasm for literature. His greatest passion was the theatre and his sometimes naive admiration led him to publish material from those involved in it against his own interest.
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
, he had little formal education; but together with his brother Edward (1835 – 1865) he founded the firm of Tinsley Brothers, which published many of the leading novelists of the time.
Life
Tinsley was born in the village of South MimmsSouth Mimms
South Mimms, sometimes spelt South Mymms, is a village and civil parish forming part of the Hertsmere district of Hertfordshire County Council in the East of England although geographically and historically is in the County of Middlesex.-History:...
, north of London, the second of ten children. Although his mother (born Sarah Dover, the daughter of a local vet) could read and write well, his father William (born 1800), a gamekeeper, did not value education, and his son only attended school for a few years. By the age of nine he was doing day jobs, such as bird scaring, in the fields.
In 1852, at the age of seventeen, William's younger brother Edward moved to London to take up work in the Nine Elms
Nine Elms
Nine Elms is a suburb of London, situated in the far north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Wandsworth between Battersea and Vauxhall.It is primarily an industrial area, dominated by Battersea Power Station, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, railway lines, a major Royal Mail sorting office and...
engineers' workshop of the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
. A few months later William followed him, walking from South Mimms to Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, where he quickly found work and lodging. Both brothers were fond of books: William spent his evenings looking looking through bookshops and Edward quit his job with the railway to work for a small magazine Diogenes. In 1854 the brothers founded Tinsley Brothers, although the firm's formal foundation seems to date to 1858. William, now an established businessman, married Louisa Rowley (1830 – 25 December 1899) on 26 April 1860. The couple would go on to have six daughters.
After a slow start, the firm had its first major success with Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.-Life:...
's first novel Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well known novel. Critic John Sutherland described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels." The plot centers on "accidental bigamy" which...
in 1862. The book was hugely profitable for Tinsley Brothers and started an association of the firm with sensation novels
Sensation novel
The sensation novel was a literary genre of fiction popular in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, following on from earlier melodramatic novels and the Newgate novels, which focused on tales woven around criminal biographies, also descend from the gothic and romantic genres of fiction...
, continued in other novels by Mrs. Braddon, Ouida
Ouida
Ouida was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé .-Biography:...
and Sheridan Le Fanu
Sheridan Le Fanu
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era....
, and perhaps most significantly The Moonstone
The Moonstone
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century British epistolary novel, generally considered the first detective novel in the English language. The story was originally serialized in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round. The Moonstone and The Woman in White are considered Wilkie...
by Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
.
In 1866, Edward died of a stroke, leaving William to manage the firm alone. He continued to publish new authors, with, most notably, the first books of Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
and G. A. Henty
G. A. Henty
George Alfred Henty , was a prolific English novelist and a special correspondent. He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include Out on the Pampas , The Young Buglers , With Clive in India and Wulf the Saxon .-Biography:G.A...
and the first novels of Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferies was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction...
. In both Hardy's and Jefferies' case, he let the authors take a part of the risk, asking the former for ₤75, the latter for ₤60 to guarantee the costs. Hardy had brought Desperate Remedies (1871) to Tinsley because of the firm's reputation as a publisher of sensation novels; but the book (like Jefferies' early novels) was not a success and Hardy regained only ₤59, 12s., 6d. from his original ₤75. Despite this experience, Hardy returned to Tinsley with Under the Greenwood Tree (1872). Tinsley bought the copyright for £30, but again was unable to sell it. A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) was yet another commercial failure; and later books by Hardy came out (more successfully) with other publishers. In old age, Tinsley recounted that he never had the offer of Far from the Madding Crowd (1874); but his assistant Edmund Downey remembered Tinsley telling him that Hardy had come to him detailing the rival offer:
I thanked him very much and said,' Take the offer, my boy. I couldn't spring so much.' I seem to be very unlucky, Downey, about fourth novels, for the one I declined was ' Far From the Madding Crowd.' Of course, I hadn't seen it but even if I had it wouldn't have made any difference.
Shortly after his brother's death, Tinsley added a new venture to the firm, Tinsleys' Magazine. Shilling magazines were then very popular; and after failing to buy Temple Bar Magazine, Tinsley founded his own in 1867. The magazine published short fiction and serializations of books that Tinsley Brothers were bringing out, including Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes. The magazine ran from 1868 to 1884, edited first by the writer Edmund Yates, then by Tinsley, finally by Tinsley's assistant Edmund Downey. It was never a success and often had disastrous losses; but Tinsley saw it as a useful advertisement for the firm's books.
The final decades of the firm were marked by repeated financial crises; and in 1887, Tinsley Brothers had liabilities of ₤1,000. The few books dated 1888 from the firm are presumably orders already placed with the printers before bankruptcy. Tinsley survived his firm by fourteen years and towards the end was able to give a picture of Victorian publishing life in Random Recollections of an Old Publisher (1900). He died of chronic Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
at his home in Wood Green
Wood Green
Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...
on 1 May 1902.
Tinsley was an unorthodox businessman, often working without formal agreements; and what he saw as fair dealing might come across as sharp practice to those who lost by it. But he could also be generous and had a genuine enthusiasm for literature. His greatest passion was the theatre and his sometimes naive admiration led him to publish material from those involved in it against his own interest.