John Murray (publisher, born 1778)
John Murray II | |
|---|---|
 Mezzotint portrait of Murray | |
| Born | John Samuel Murray November 27, 1778 London, England |
| Died | June 27, 1843(aged 64) |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Spouse | |
| Children | John Murray III |
| Father | John Murray |
John Murray(27 November 1778 – 27 June 1843) was aScottishpublisher and member of theJohn Murray publishing house.He published works by authors such asSir Walter Scott,Lord Byron,Jane AustenandMaria Rundell.[1]
Life
[edit]The publishing house was founded by Murray's father, who died when Murray was only fifteen years old. During his adolescence, he ran the business with a partner Samuel Highley, but in 1803 the partnership was dissolved.[2]Murray soon began to show the courage in literary speculation which earned for him later the name given him by Lord Byron of "the Anak of publishers",[3]a reference toAnakin theBook of Numbers.
In 1807 Murray took a share withArchibald Constablein publishing Sir Walter Scott'sMarmion.In the same year, he became part-owner of theEdinburgh Review,although with the help ofGeorge Canninghe launched in opposition theQuarterly Reviewin 1809, withWilliam Giffordas its editor, and Scott, Canning,Robert Southey,John Hookham FrereandJohn Wilson Crokeramong its earliest contributors.[3]He published Croker's popular poemThe Battles of Talaverain 1809. Murray was closely cooperated with Constable, but ended the association in 1813 due to Constable's business methods that did not work properly.
In 1811, the first two cantos of Lord Byron'sChilde Haroldwere brought to Murray byRobert Charles Dallas,to whom Byron had presented them. Murray paid Dallas 500guineasfor the copyright. In 1812, he bought the publishing business ofWilliam Miller(1769–1844), and migrated to 50Albemarle Street.Literary London flocked to his house and Murray became the centre of the publishing world, regularly hosting meetings between authors and friends in his drawing-room.[1]It was in his drawing-room that Scott and Byron first met, and here, in 1824, after the death of Lord Byron, that the manuscript of his memoirs, considered by Gifford unfit for publication, was destroyed. A close friendship existed between Byron and his publisher, but for political reasons business relations ceased after the publication of the fifth canto ofDon Juan.Murray paid Byron some £20,000 for his various poems. ToThomas Moorehe gave nearly £5,000 for writing the life of Byron, and toGeorge Crabbe£3,000 forTales of the Hall.[3]
In fiction
[edit]The character Prester John inJohn Paterson's Mare,James Hogg's allegorical satire on the Edinburgh publishing scene, is based on John Murray.[4]
He is a supporting character inSusanna Clarke's novelJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,and is played byJohn Sessionsinits television adaptation.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"John Murray II (1778-1843)".National Library of Scotland.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^Garnett, Richard(1894)..InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^abcChisholm 1911.
- ^Hogg, James(2020). Hunter, Adrian; Leonardi, Barbara (eds.).Contributions to English, Irish, and American periodicals.Edinburgh University Press.pp. 19–34, 213.ISBN9780748695980.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Murray, Johns.v.John Murray (2)".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 41.
