Age, Biography and Wiki
Allen Lane (Allen Lane Williams) was born on 21 September, 1902 in Bristol, England, United Kingdom, is a Publisher and founder of Penguin Books. Discover Allen Lane's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 67 years old?
Popular As |
Allen Lane Williams |
Occupation |
Publisher |
Age |
67 years old |
Zodiac Sign |
Virgo |
Born |
21 September, 1902 |
Birthday |
21 September |
Birthplace |
Bristol, England, United Kingdom |
Date of death |
7 July, 1970 |
Died Place |
Northwood, England, United Kingdom |
Nationality |
United Kingdom
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We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 21 September.
He is a member of famous Founder with the age 67 years old group.
Allen Lane Height, Weight & Measurements
At 67 years old, Allen Lane height not available right now. We will update Allen Lane's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.
Physical Status |
Height |
Not Available |
Weight |
Not Available |
Body Measurements |
Not Available |
Eye Color |
Not Available |
Hair Color |
Not Available |
Who Is Allen Lane's Wife?
His wife is Lady Letitia Lucy Orr (m. 28 June 1941)
Family |
Parents |
Not Available |
Wife |
Lady Letitia Lucy Orr (m. 28 June 1941) |
Sibling |
Not Available |
Children |
3, including Clare Morpurgo |
Allen Lane Net Worth
His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Allen Lane worth at the age of 67 years old? Allen Lane’s income source is mostly from being a successful Founder. He is from United Kingdom. We have estimated Allen Lane's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.
Net Worth in 2024 |
$1 Million - $5 Million |
Salary in 2024 |
Under Review |
Net Worth in 2023 |
Pending |
Salary in 2023 |
Under Review |
House |
Not Available |
Cars |
Not Available |
Source of Income |
Founder |
Allen Lane Social Network
Instagram |
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Linkedin |
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Twitter |
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Facebook |
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Wikipedia |
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Imdb |
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Timeline
Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market.
In 1919 he joined the publishing company Bodley Head as an apprentice to his uncle and founder of the company John Lane.
In the process, he and the rest of his family changed their surname to Lane to retain the childless John Lane's company as a family firm.
He rose quickly at Bodley Head, becoming managing editor in 1925 following the death of his uncle.
The legend goes that on a train journey back from visiting Agatha Christie in 1934, Lane found himself on an Exeter station platform with nothing available worth reading.
He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine; the first was set up outside Henderson's in Charing Cross Road and dubbed the "Penguincubator".
Lane was also well aware of the Hamburg publisher Albatross Books and adopted many of its innovations.
Most booksellers and authors were against the idea of paperbacks.
They believed that paperbacks would result in individuals spending less money on books.
Lane was very stubborn when it came to his company; he operated mainly on intuition and imagination.
"He thrived in an atmosphere of crisis and came most fully alive under the challenge of great dilemmas."
He was a creative genius that once he had an idea he would not stop until it came to fruition.
Once he decided on creating paperbacks he set about in deciding what the books should look like and finding a name.
He had decided that the books would be reprints so he also needed to approach other publishers to see if they and their authors would be willing to sublease the rights of the books.
He was quoted as saying, "I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not also be well designed, for good design is no more expensive than bad."
Edward Young designed the horizontal bands and used Gill Sans Bold for the title's letting.
He was also sent to the Zoo in Regents Park to sketch penguins for the cover.
Allen Lane wanted a cover design that was consistent and easily recognizable.
After conflict with the board of directors who were wary at first—for fear of being prosecuted—of publishing James Joyce's controversial book Ulysses, Lane, together with his brothers Richard and John, founded Penguin Books in 1935 as part of the Bodley Head.
Penguin Books became a separate company the following year.
In 1937 the font was changed to Times New Roman.
His Pelican Books were non-fiction books.
Penguins were meant to entertain while Pelicans were meant to enlighten.
The paperback venture was extremely successful, and he expanded into other areas such as Pelican Books in 1937, Puffin Books in 1940 and the Penguin Classics series in 1945.
Lane married Letitia Lucy Orr, daughter of Sir Charles Orr, on 28 June 1941 and had three daughters: Clare, Christine, and Anna.
In the 1950s his company had grown so much that it had major outposts in both Australia and the United States.
Lane's management style put him and the individuals in charge in his United States office at odds.
These individuals eventually left Penguin books and started their own publishing companies: Bantam Books and New American Library.
Lane was responsible for the decision to publish an unexpurgated edition of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover as a means of testing the Obscene Publications Act 1959.
In 1965, during an attempt by chief editor Tony Godwin and the board of directors to remove him, Lane stole and burnt the entire print run of the French cartoonist Siné's book Massacre, which was reportedly deeply offensive.
Lane dismissed Godwin, and retained control of Penguin, but was forced to retire shortly afterwards after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
In 1967 he started a hardback imprint under his own name, Allen Lane.
Allen Lane Williams was born in Bristol, to Camilla (née Lane) and Samuel Williams, and studied at Bristol Grammar School.
He died in 1970 at Northwood, Middlesex.
In 2010, Penguin Random House Canada launched an imprint named for Allen Lane to publish prestige non-fiction by established authors.