Allen Lane

Sir Allen Lane (actually Allen Williams, born September 21, 1902 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, † 7 July 1970 in Northwood, Middlesex ) was one of Britain's most important publishers of the 20th century, a pioneer of the paperback in England and founder of the Penguin Publishing ( Penguin Books, Ltd.)..

He gave 1935 first cheap reprint editions of contemporary writers ( Ernest Hemingway, Eric Linklater and Agatha Christie ) for 6 Pence out, the price of a pack of cigarettes, later also other series, including an edition of Shakespeare (1937 ), the successful children's book series Puffin Story Books ( 1941) and Homer's Odyssey (1946 the first volume of the Penguin Classics ). The most successful work was the 1960 published unabridged edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence, which - according to a sensational process - over 3.5 million copies sold - 2 million of them within six weeks.

Lane was in 1952 appointed Knight and retired in 1969 after publication of the 3,000 th Penguin title ( Ulysses by James Joyce ) from the publisher back.