540:
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48:, north of London, the second of ten children. Although his mother (born Sarah Dover, the daughter of a local vet) could read and write well, his father William (born 1800), a gamekeeper, did not value education, and his son only attended school for a few years. By the age of nine he was doing day jobs, such as bird scaring, in the fields.
183:
The final decades of the firm were marked by repeated financial crises; and in 1887, Tinsley
Brothers had liabilities of £1,000. The few books dated 1888 from the firm are presumably orders already placed with the printers before bankruptcy. Tinsley survived his firm by fourteen years and towards the
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Tinsley was an unorthodox businessman, often working without formal agreements; and what he saw as fair dealing might come across as sharp practice to those who lost by it. But he could also be generous and had a genuine enthusiasm for literature. His greatest passion was the theatre and his
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I thanked him very much and said,' Take the offer, my boy. I couldn't spring so much.' I seem to be very unlucky, Downey, about fourth novels, for the one I declined was ' Far From the
Madding Crowd.' Of course, I hadn't seen it but even if I had it wouldn't have made any difference.
22:
131:(1871) to Tinsley because of the firm's reputation as a publisher of sensational novels; but the book (like Jefferies' early novels) was not a success and Hardy regained only £59, 12s., 6d. from his original £75. Despite this experience, Hardy returned to Tinsley with
67:. In 1854 the brothers founded Tinsley Brothers, although the firm's formal foundation seems to date to 1858. William, now an established businessman, married Louisa Rowley (1830 – 25 December 1899) on 26 April 1860. The couple would go on to have six daughters.
318:
Hardy (1928), 100, "By this time it seemed to have dawned upon him that the
Macmillan publishing-house was not in the way of issuing novels of a sensational kind: and accordingly he packed up the MS. again and posted it to Messrs. Tinsley … which did publish such
328:
Hardy (1928), 115–6; Purdy (1954), 4–5; Sutherland (1976), 218–22; Newbolt (2001), 156–62. Sutherland gives a transcription, Purdy and
Newbolt a photo, of the account presented to Hardy. Purdy (1954), 329–35 also summarises the Hardy-Tinsley
392:
Tinsley Moved in to 2 Dovecote Villas on Green Lanes in 1862, shortly after it was built. He remained there till his death. Sourced from 'William
Tinsley (1831-1902): Speculative Publisher', ed Peter Newbolt, University of Michigan,
415:: "There was no written agreement between us …, and I certainly thought I was entitled to charge what I had lost by 'Love or Marriage' out of the profit there was on 'In Silk Attire', but I reckoned without my host."
63:, where he quickly found work and lodging. Both brothers were fond of books: William spent his evenings looking through bookshops and Edward quit his job with the railway to work for a small magazine
180:, then by Tinsley, finally by Tinsley's assistant Edmund Downey. It was never a success and often had disastrous losses; but Tinsley saw it as a useful advertisement for the firm's books.
36:, he had little formal education; but together with his brother Edward (1835–1865) he founded the firm of The Tinsley Brothers, which published many of the leading novelists of the time.
143:(1873) was yet another commercial failure; and later books by Hardy came out (more successfully) with other publishers. In old age, Tinsley recounted that he never had the offer of
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giving 1858 as the date and adding "I have our original agreement before me at this moment". Newbolt (2001), 31–2 discusses the patchy evidence for the brothers' early ventures.
125:. In both Hardy's and Jefferies' case, he let the authors take a part of the risk, asking the former for £75, the latter for £60 to guarantee the costs. Hardy had brought
172:, Tinsley founded his own in 1867. The magazine published short fiction and serialisations of books that Tinsley Brothers were bringing out, including Hardy's
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In 1866, Edward died of a stroke, leaving
William to manage the firm alone. He continued to publish new authors, with, most notably, the first books of
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587:
309:
Tinsley (1900) I, 126–7 (on Hardy); Downey (1905), 114–7 (on Henty); Miller and
Matthews (1993), 91–3; 102–4; 113–5 (on Jefferies).
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Tinsley (1900) I, 46–9 gives 1854 as the start of the business; II, 343–4 cites a letter
Tinsley wrote to the
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sometimes naive admiration led him to publish material from those involved in it against his own interest.
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In 1852, at the age of seventeen, William's younger brother Edward moved to London to take up work in the
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in 1862. The book was hugely profitable for
Tinsley Brothers and started an association of the firm with
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493:. Oxford: OUP, 1954. Reprinted Delaware and London: Oak Knoll Press and British Museum, 2002.
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Tinsley (1900) I, 82–5 (on Ouida). Newbolt (2001), 76–80 (on Ouida); 101–3 (on Le Fanu).
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Tinsley (1900) 1, 323–4; Downey (1905), 242–72; Newbolt (2001), 203–16; Newbolt (2004).
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remembered
Tinsley telling him that Hardy had come to him detailing the rival offer:
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137:(1872). Tinsley bought the copyright for £30, but again was unable to sell it.
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Shortly after his brother's death, Tinsley added a new venture to the firm,
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59:. A few months later William followed him, walking from South Mimms to
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166:. Shilling magazines were then very popular; and after failing to buy
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32:(13 July 1831 – 1 May 1902) was a British publisher. The son of a
530:(London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd., 1900).
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William Tinsley (1831–1902) "Speculative Publisher", A Commentary
176:. The magazine ran from 1868 to 1884, edited first by the writer
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end was able to give a picture of Victorian publishing life in
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Tinsley (1900) I, 295 gives an example from his dealings with
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After a slow start, the firm had its first major success with
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Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day
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Tinsley (1900) I, 47; Downey (1905), 215–6; Newbolt (2004).
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467:Newbolt, Peter, "Tinsley, William (1831–1902)",
84:, continued in other novels by Mrs. Braddon,
560:. London: Tinsley Brothers. pp. 147–48
471:. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Accessed 22 May 2008.
454:Richard Jefferies: A Bibliographical Study
242:Tinsley (1900) I, 47–8; Newbolt (2001), 7.
549:
365:Tinsley (1900) I, 128; Hardy (1928), 118.
520:Random Recollections of an Old Publisher
449:. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1928.
447:The Early Life of Thomas Hardy 1840–1891
442:. London: Hurst and Blackett Ltd., 1905.
273:Newbolt (2001), 38; 196; Newbolt (2004).
186:Random Recollections of an Old Publisher
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469:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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491:Thomas Hardy: A bibliographical study
613:19th-century British businesspeople
44:Tinsley was born in the village of
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505:Victorian Novelists and Publishers
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541:Works by or about William Tinsley
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456:. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1993.
109:Caricature of Tinsley by A. Bryan
92:, and perhaps most significantly
588:People from Hertsmere (district)
452:Miller, George and H. Matthews,
57:London and South Western Railway
16:British publisher (1831 - 1902).
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188:(1900). He died of chronic
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146:Far from the Madding Crowd
25:William Tinsley in old age
338:Sutherland (1976), 222–5.
251:Tinsley (1900) I, 3; 42.
224:Tinsley (1900) I, 29–36.
134:Under the Greenwood Tree
121:and the first novels of
489:Purdy, Richard Little,
282:Tinsley (1900) I, 56–8.
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608:People from Wood Green
445:Hardy, Frances Emily,
383:Newbolt (2001), 292–3.
347:Tinsley (1900) I, 128.
233:Tinsley (1900) I, 7–8.
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603:Deaths from nephritis
300:Newbolt (2001), 95–8.
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356:Downey (1905), 20–1.
77:Lady Audley's Secret
174:A Pair of Blue Eyes
169:Temple Bar Magazine
140:A Pair of Blue Eyes
550:Anonymous (1873).
518:Tinsley, William.
503:Sutherland, J.A.,
215:Newbolt (2001), 1.
164:Tinsleys' Magazine
128:Desperate Remedies
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119:G. A. Henty
46:South Mimms
577:Categories
513:0485111616
499:1584560703
484:0754602915
462:0859679187
431:References
194:Wood Green
34:gamekeeper
262:Athenaeum
204:Footnotes
53:Nine Elms
564:13 March
528:Volume 2
524:Volume 1
319:novels".
65:Diogenes
543:at the
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86:Ouida
566:2011
509:ISBN
495:ISBN
480:ISBN
458:ISBN
393:2001
117:and
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40:Life
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