www.penguin.co.uk
In 1935, if you wanted
to read a good book, you needed either a lot of money or a library card.
Cheap paperbacks were available, but their poor production generally
tended to mirror the quality between the covers.
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The first Penguin
paperbacks appeared in the summer of 1935 and included works by Ernest
Hemingway, André Maurois and Agatha Christie.
They were colour coded
(orange for fiction, blue for biography, and green for crime) and cost
just sixpence, the same price as a packet of cigarettes. The way the
public thought about books changed forever - the paperback revolution
had begun. |
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Penguin became a separate
company in 1936 and set up premises in the Crypt of the Holy Trinity
Church on Marylebone Road, using a fairground slide to receive deliveries
from the street above. Within twelve months, it had sold a staggering 3
million paperbacks. Traditional publishers tended to view Penguin with
suspicion and uncertainty, as did some authors.
Penguin now offers the choice of a whole variety of books, from Art and
Architecture, Biographies, Children’s Books, Crime, Entertainment, to Food
and Drink, Science Fiction, and Sports and so much more. To browse through
Penguins various book titles, please
click here.
You can also find out reviews and information on upcoming titles by
clicking
here. You will find extracts from upcoming books as well as interviews
with the authors.
Penguin also offers discounts and exclusive prizes, to be part of this
please sign up for the Penguin newsletter
here.
www.penguin.co.uk
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