The captivating story of the famed publisher George Weidenfeld, from
his struggles as an Austrian-Jewish refugee in London to his rise as a
world-renowned literary figure.
After arriving in London just before World War Two as a penniless
Austrian-Jewish refugee, George Weidenfeld went on to transform not only
the world of publishing but the culture of ideas. The books that he
published include momentous titles such as Lolita, Double Helix, The
Group, and The Hedgehog and the Fox, with authors he championed
ranging from Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy, JD Salinger, and Edna O'Brien
to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow, and Henry Kissinger. His
role as publisher brought him into the orbit of influential figures such
as George Bush, Ann Getty, Donald Trump, and LBJ.
In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished,
and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating
character. Throughout his long career, he was written about in the New
York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, and
other publications. Was he, as described by some, the "greatest
salesperson," "the world's best networker," "the publisher's publisher,"
and "a great intellectual"? Was his lifelong effort to be the world's
most famous host a cover for his desperate loneliness? Who, in fact, was
the real George Weidenfeld and how did he rise so successfully within
the ranks of New York and London society?
Drawing on author correspondence, internal memos, and other documents
buried deep in the secret publishing files of Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
Harding crafts a portrait of the publisher's life that is inextricable
from the efforts and intricacies of putting a book into the world.
Structured around twenty books associated with George Weidenfeld, and
intercut with explorations of contemporary concerns such as cancel
culture, the right to publish, freedom of speech, and separating the art
from the artist, The Maverick tells the captivating story behind the
life of this iconic publisher.
