Hachette UK is made up of 11 autonomous publishing divisions and Paperblanks, the world’s second largest publisher of premium stationery. Below are the highlights of our history and the companies and books that have come together to make Hachette UK the diverse and vibrant group it is today.
1768 – John Murray founded
1795 – Constable founded
1815 – Emma by Jane Austen
1826 – Louis Hachette founds the bookshop and publisher Brédif, which becomes L. Hachette et Compagnie in 1846
1834 – George Philip and Son founded
1847 – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
1848 – Cassell founded by John Cassell
1859 – On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
1868 – Hodder & Stoughton founded
1872 – Chambers English Dictionary
1883 – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
1891 – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
1908 – A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
1928 – Victor Gollancz founded
“Thought is the most revolutionary thing in the world. The more desperate the situation, the greater becomes the necessity.” – Victor Gollancz
1937 – The Trial by Franz Kafka
1938 – Teach Yourself series published for the first time
1938 – MacDonald and Co. founded
1939 – Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
1942 – The Famous Five by Enid Blyton
1949 – Weidenfeld & Nicolson founded
1950 – Hamlyn founded
1953 – Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
1961 – Sphere founded
1962 – The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
1966 – Coronet Books founded
1969 – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
1971 – Octopus founded
1973 – Virago founded
1974 – Orbit founded
1976 – Hodder Children’s Books founded
1977 – A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor
1984 – The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
1986 – Headline founded
1986 – Sceptre founded
1991 – Orion Publishing Group founded
1993 – Hodder Headline formed by Headline’s acquisition of Hodder & Stoughton
1995 – Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
1996 – Hachette Livre acquires Orion and Cassell
2000 – Michel Thomas Method
2001 – Hachette Livre acquires John Murray
2002 – Rising Stars founded
2004 – Quercus founded
2004 – Hodder Headline acquired by Lagardère, creating Hachette Livre UK
2005 – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2005 – Hachette Children’s Book formed through the merger of Hodder Children’s Books and Franklin Watts
2006 – Hachette Livre UK acquires Time Warner Book Group, renaming it Little, Brown Book Group
2008 – Hachette Livre UK changes its name to Hachette UK
2012 – Hachette UK acquires the Enid Blyton Estate
2014 – Hachette UK acquires Quercus
2017 – Hachette UK acquires Bookouture