Unpublished memoirs of Charles Pick, who signed major writers from Roald Dahl to Salinger, recount tales of humour and hubris
Fantastic Mr Fox … Roald Dahl, whom Charles Pick snaffled from under the noses of five other UK publishers. Photograph: Ian Cook/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
With tales of beers with John Steinbeck at his Nobel prize ceremony and signing up Roald Dahl on a transatlantic ferry, the newly opened archive of the publisher Charles Pick offers a intriguing glimpse into publishing's golden era.
After he started out as an office boy for Victor Gollancz in 1933, Pick's 66-year career in publishing saw him discover, nurture and publish some of the biggest names in 20th-century literature, including JD Salinger, Graham Greene and Dahl. With a roster including Catherine Cookson, Wilbur Smith, Anita Desai and John Le Carré, Pick had an unerring eye for what the public wanted and formed close relationships with many of his authors.
Early in his career, however, his keen eye did not always serve him so well. The young publisher tells of how he went into a Hampstead shop and tried to persuade the bookseller to stock a new title. "I know you don't stock a lot of new books," Pick said, "but there's a marvellous new book coming next month called Burmese Days by George Orwell." It turned out the bookseller was George Orwell himself, working under his real name Eric Blair, before 1984 and Animal Farm had made him famous. It seems as if Orwell took the misunderstanding in his stride. "I think he made some remark like: 'Very interesting'", recalled Pick in an interview taped for the British Library.
Pick also encouraged Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, to pen her first book. The pair met at a dinner party, where she had him "spellbound" with her stories, Pick writes. He said: "Look, if you could write a book as well as you can tell these stories I believe you could write a bestseller." "I hope you aren't fooling me," she replied. "My secret dream is to write. Nobody in my family writes and nobody knows that it is my ambition." Pick took her to see his boss at Michael Joseph and Dickens was given a contract, going on to write the bestselling One Pair of Hands
More at The Guardian.
Footnote from The Bookman:
Monica Dickens was a friend of mine and I stayed with her on several occasions on Cape Cod and then later in the UK when she moved back after the death of her American husband. She spoke warmly of Charles Pick whom she regarded as a close friend as well as her publisher. As each of her books was published he would present her with a handsome leather bound edition.They made an impressive set of her bookshelf and she was very proud of them.
He came to NZ on a number of occasions to visit the NZ Heinemann office. An interesting fellow, a raconteur and a gentleman who always had a twinkle in his eye.
After he started out as an office boy for Victor Gollancz in 1933, Pick's 66-year career in publishing saw him discover, nurture and publish some of the biggest names in 20th-century literature, including JD Salinger, Graham Greene and Dahl. With a roster including Catherine Cookson, Wilbur Smith, Anita Desai and John Le Carré, Pick had an unerring eye for what the public wanted and formed close relationships with many of his authors.
Early in his career, however, his keen eye did not always serve him so well. The young publisher tells of how he went into a Hampstead shop and tried to persuade the bookseller to stock a new title. "I know you don't stock a lot of new books," Pick said, "but there's a marvellous new book coming next month called Burmese Days by George Orwell." It turned out the bookseller was George Orwell himself, working under his real name Eric Blair, before 1984 and Animal Farm had made him famous. It seems as if Orwell took the misunderstanding in his stride. "I think he made some remark like: 'Very interesting'", recalled Pick in an interview taped for the British Library.
Pick also encouraged Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, to pen her first book. The pair met at a dinner party, where she had him "spellbound" with her stories, Pick writes. He said: "Look, if you could write a book as well as you can tell these stories I believe you could write a bestseller." "I hope you aren't fooling me," she replied. "My secret dream is to write. Nobody in my family writes and nobody knows that it is my ambition." Pick took her to see his boss at Michael Joseph and Dickens was given a contract, going on to write the bestselling One Pair of Hands
More at The Guardian.
Footnote from The Bookman:
Monica Dickens was a friend of mine and I stayed with her on several occasions on Cape Cod and then later in the UK when she moved back after the death of her American husband. She spoke warmly of Charles Pick whom she regarded as a close friend as well as her publisher. As each of her books was published he would present her with a handsome leather bound edition.They made an impressive set of her bookshelf and she was very proud of them.
He came to NZ on a number of occasions to visit the NZ Heinemann office. An interesting fellow, a raconteur and a gentleman who always had a twinkle in his eye.
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