Victor Gollancz: a socialist publisher in British Popular Front years

Abstract

This article aims to consider the paths of Victor Gollancz (1893-1967), one of the most important publishers and British humanitarian activists of the Twentieth century. As a bookseller, Gollancz founded his own company in 1927, Victor Gollancz Ltd., one of the most successful of his time. In 1935, he co-founder the Left Club in London, considered the first book club of the modern era in Britain, whose work lasted until 1947 and inspired the creation of more than 1,500 local branches throughout England and more than 15 other international sections with branches on every continent. As a humanitarian activist, Gollancz was responsible for numerous campaigns to support refugees from the Spanish Civil War in England and during the Second World War, the civilian victims in Germany. Factors which turns him a key-figure on the British Popular Front.

Keywords

• victor gollancz
• history of the book
• british left