Hodder & Stoughton
Encyclopedia
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint
of Hachette.
. In 1861 the firm became Jackson, Walford and Hodder; but in 1868 Jackson and Walford retired, and Thomas Wilberforce Stoughton joined the firm, creating Hodder & Stoughton.
Hodder & Stoughton published both religious and secular works, and its religious list contained some progressive titles. These included George Adam Smith's
Isaiah for its Expositor’s Bible series, which was one of the earliest texts to identify multiple authorship in the Book of Isaiah
. There was also a sympathetic Life of St Francis
by Paul Sabatier, a French Protestant pastor. Matthew Hodder made frequent visits to North America, meeting with the Moody Press and making links with Scribners and Fleming H. Revell.
The secular list only gradually accepted fiction, and it was still subject to "moral censorship" in the early part of the twentieth century. Matthew Hodder was doubtful about the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
, and the company refused Michael Arlen
's The Green Hat. In 1922 Hodder and Stoughton published an edition of Lewis Carroll
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
which was likely very controversial at the time given the fantastical nature of the work.
In 1928, the company became the exclusive British hardback publisher of Leslie Charteris
's adventure novel series, The Saint
, publishing all 50 UK first editions of the series until 1983.
Hodder & Stoughton were also the originators of the Teach Yourself
line of self-instruction books, which are still published through Hodder Headline's educational division.
In the 1980s they acquired the rights to publish the English translations of the Asterix
comics
from the company Brockhampton Press
Ltd. as "Hodder Dargaud". Hodder & Stoughton continued to publish them through the 1990s. They have since relinquished the rights to Orion Books. Beginning in 1988, the company took over first UK publishing rights for the James Bond
book series from Jonathan Cape
.
In the 1970s Hodder & Stoughton was still known primarily as a Christian company. However, it was acquired by Headline in 1992, and placed alongside a number of imprints such as Delta, which produces erotic novels. They also publish the popular series CHERUB
by Robert Muchamore
. On 7 July 2010 released Stephen King's Under the Dome
with four cover versions.
In 2011, Hodder and Stoughton launched the imprint Two Roads Books.
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Hachette.
History
The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational UnionCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
. In 1861 the firm became Jackson, Walford and Hodder; but in 1868 Jackson and Walford retired, and Thomas Wilberforce Stoughton joined the firm, creating Hodder & Stoughton.
Hodder & Stoughton published both religious and secular works, and its religious list contained some progressive titles. These included George Adam Smith's
George Adam Smith
George Adam Smith , Scottish theologian, was born in Calcutta, where his father, George Smith, C.I.E., was then Principal of the Doveton College, a boys' school....
Isaiah for its Expositor’s Bible series, which was one of the earliest texts to identify multiple authorship in the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
. There was also a sympathetic Life of St Francis
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
by Paul Sabatier, a French Protestant pastor. Matthew Hodder made frequent visits to North America, meeting with the Moody Press and making links with Scribners and Fleming H. Revell.
The secular list only gradually accepted fiction, and it was still subject to "moral censorship" in the early part of the twentieth century. Matthew Hodder was doubtful about the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
, and the company refused Michael Arlen
Michael Arlen
Michael Arlen , original name Dikran Kouyoumdjian, was an Armenian essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter, who had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and writing in England...
's The Green Hat. In 1922 Hodder and Stoughton published an edition of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
which was likely very controversial at the time given the fantastical nature of the work.
In 1928, the company became the exclusive British hardback publisher of Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
's adventure novel series, The Saint
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
, publishing all 50 UK first editions of the series until 1983.
Hodder & Stoughton were also the originators of the Teach Yourself
Teach Yourself
Teach Yourself is an imprint of Hodder Education that specializes in self-instruction books. The series is most famous for its language education books, but its titles in mathematics are also best sellers, and the series covers a great deal of other subjects as well.Like many similar series, the...
line of self-instruction books, which are still published through Hodder Headline's educational division.
In the 1980s they acquired the rights to publish the English translations of the Asterix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
from the company Brockhampton Press
Brockhampton Press
Brockhampton Press was a British publishing company, based in Leicester. Originally specialising in children's books, from about 1940, it published well known series, including Asterix, many of Enid Blyton's story collections and Scottish author Nigel Tranter's children's books.It is now an imprint...
Ltd. as "Hodder Dargaud". Hodder & Stoughton continued to publish them through the 1990s. They have since relinquished the rights to Orion Books. Beginning in 1988, the company took over first UK publishing rights for the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
book series from Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
.
In the 1970s Hodder & Stoughton was still known primarily as a Christian company. However, it was acquired by Headline in 1992, and placed alongside a number of imprints such as Delta, which produces erotic novels. They also publish the popular series CHERUB
CHERUB
CHERUB is a series of young adult spy novels, written by the English author Robert Muchamore, focusing around a division of the British Security Service named CHERUB, which employs minors, predominantly orphans, as intelligence officers...
by Robert Muchamore
Robert Muchamore
Robert Kilgore Muchamore is an English author, most notable for writing the CHERUB and Henderson's Boys novels.-Prior to writing:...
. On 7 July 2010 released Stephen King's Under the Dome
Under the Dome
Under the Dome is a novel by Stephen King, published in November 2009. It is a partial rewrite of a novel King attempted writing twice in the late 1970s and early 1980s, under the titles The Cannibals and Under the Dome...
with four cover versions.
In 2011, Hodder and Stoughton launched the imprint Two Roads Books.