George Smith (2)

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George Murray Smith (1824-1901)

"From the portrait painted by G. F. Watts, RA"

1876

Source: Wood 208

George Smith, along with another man of Scottish background, Alexander Elder (1790–1876), and with William Smith Williams (1800–1875) as literary adviser, ran what became the most successful firm of London publishers in Victorian England. Early on, his acceptance of Jane Eyre in 1847 "arguably made his reputation as a publisher overnight" (Bell). Smith's relationship with its author developed, to the extent that he inspired the character of Dr John in Villette. Clearly "not displeased" about this (Barker 705), he published the novel in 1851. Charlotte, for her part, remained loyal to the firm throughout. [Commentary continues below.]

Image acquisition and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the source, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]

Anne and Emily's novels were originally published by Thomas Newby, but after the sisters' deaths, Smith managed to negotiate their transfer to his list as well (see Peterson 155-56). Looking further into the future, we find other aspects of Smith's successful career: in 1862 he established the long-lived and influential Cornhill Magazine, which ran until 1975, and in 1882 he founded the invaluable Dictionary of National Biography. Another very important aspect of his work, fully discussed elsewhere on this website (click on the link just below) was his encouragement of book illustrators.

Related Material

Bibliography

Barker, Juliet. The Brontës. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1994.

Bell, Bill. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Onine ed. Web. 2 December 2017.

Peterson, Linda. "The Brontës' Way into Print." In The Brontës in Context, ed. Marianne Thormählen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 151-58.

Wood, Butler, ed. Charlotte Brontë, 1816-1916; a centenary memorial, prepared by the Brontë society, with a foreword by Mrs. Humphry Ward and 3 maps and 28 illustrations. New York: Dutton, 1918. Internet Archive. Contributed by University of California Libraries. Web. 2 December 2017.

Created 2 December 2017