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The Maverick

George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing

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The Maverick

Written by: Thomas Harding
Narrated by: Jeremy Clyde
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About this listen

After arriving in London just before the Second World War as a penniless and friendless 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 and Edna O'Brien to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow and Henry Kissinger.

In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating character and 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 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.

©2023 Thomas Harding (P)2023 Orion Publishing Group Limited
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Critic Reviews

The Maverick anchors George Weidenfeld as one of the foremost influencers in modern literature and a man who rose from extraordinary circumstances to lead an even more extraordinary life and legacy. A treasure trove of insight and history (ARIANNA HUFFINGTON)
Meticulously researched, cunningly constructed and compellingly written. A vivid account of publishing's glory years told through the action-packed life of one of its most charismatic pioneers (ANTHONY HOLDEN)
George Weidenfeld was a titan of a man, an irresistible character and something of a genius. This book does him full justice (SIMON HEFFER, author of THE AGE OF DECADENCE and HIGH MINDS)
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