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The Man Who Changed the Way We Read
- Author
- Jeremy Lewis
- Narrator
- Steve John Shepherd
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 10 July 2025
- Run Time
- 17 hours 7 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
The story of Penguin Books, Allen Lane and how they changed the world, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Penguin
By founding Penguin books and popularizing the paperback, Allen Lane not only changed publishing in Britain, he was also at the forefront of a social and cultural revolution that saw the millions of people given access to what had previously been the preserve of a wealthy few.
In Penguin Special, Jeremy Lewis brings this extraordinary era brilliantly to life, recounting how Allen Lane came to launch his Penguins for the price of a packet of cigarettes; how they became enormously influential in alerting the public to the threat of Nazi Germany; and how Penguin itself gradually became a national institution, like the BBC and the NHS, whilst at the same time challenging the status quo through the famous Lady Chatterley case. Above all, it is the story of how one often fallible, complex man used his vision to change the world.
© Jeremy Lewis 2005 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
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An invaluable and fascinating account of this country's intellectual and political development
Time Out
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Both hugely enjoyable to read and surprisingly riveting
Independent on Sunday
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Lewis's rakish and racy biography ... tells the story not just of a man, or even a firm, but of a cultural makeover that shaped the world as we know it
Daily Telegraph
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Lewis's book is outstanding
London Review of Books
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Jeremy Lewis
- Narrator
- Steve John Shepherd
- Duration
- 17 hours 7 minutes
- Release Date
- 10 July 2025
- ISBN
- 9781405985673
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Biography: business and industry, Publishing and book trade, History of specific companies / corporate history
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin. The story of Penguin Books, Allen Lane and how they changed the world, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of PenguinBy founding Penguin books and popularizing the paperback, Allen Lane not only changed publishing in Britain, he was also at the forefront of a social and cultural revolution that saw the millions of people given access to what had previously been the preserve of a wealthy few.In Penguin Special, Jeremy Lewis brings this extraordinary era brilliantly to life, recounting how Allen Lane came to launch his Penguins for the price of a packet of cigarettes; how they became enormously influential in alerting the public to the threat of Nazi Germany; and how Penguin itself gradually became a national institution, like the BBC and the NHS, whilst at the same time challenging the status quo through the famous Lady Chatterley case. Above all, it is the story of how one often fallible, complex man used his vision to change the world.© Jeremy Lewis 2005 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
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