Scribners

Five Generations in Publishing

By: Charles Scribner III

Narrated by: Charles Scribner III

Scribners tells the inside story of five generations—over 150 years—at the legendary publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons, beginning with its founding in downtown New York through its golden era on Fifth Avenue above the famous landmark bookstore, and down to the present day.

The author, the fifth of the Charleses to work at that house of celebrated authors, provides here an inside view—"between the covers" of illustrious and notorious books—of the family members, editors, and authors of this colorful literary history.

Among the writers who illuminate this story, we find in the early years Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and John Galsworthy. Then, with the arrival of "editor of genius" Max Perkins, the story takes off into the heights of 20th-century fiction with Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Marcia Davenport, Alan Paton, James Jones, and—above all—Ernest Hemingway, that most loyal and enduring author whose works were published by four generations of Scribners.

This engaging personal account of family history—both in and out of the office—includes the most colorful controversies: from Mussolini and Trotsky to Lindbergh and C. P. Snow, as well as behind-the-scenes adventures of the author's father as he navigated the seas infested with publishing corsairs before finding a safe harbor at Macmillan, and finally, after the demise of tycoon Robert Maxwell, Simon & Schuster.

The author, an art historian, found himself for 30 years in the company of writers by "an accident of birth". But it proved an adventure beyond his reckoning. As Fitzgerald wrote: "If it wasn't life, it was magnificent."

©2023 Charles Scribner III (P)2023 Charles Scribner III

A Memoir of a Publishing House, a Family and a Man

More than a solid overview of the history of a distinguished house, this somewhat rambling but beautifully written memoir tells as much about its author, in my opinion, as it does about Scribners.

It's also a fascinating look at publishing as it existed in the pre-internet era, Scribners having started in the 1840s, a time when most "publishing" was done by booksellers and authors. Specializing in the publication process itself was the innovation that launched this great house. Thus, this story is a snapshot of the history of publishing as we know it.

Charles Scriber III, the fifth or sixth of that name (they lost count), views and expresses the world from a rarified social perch, without arrogance or condescension, and in a way that offers a special and, perhaps, unique glimpse into the New York high society of his times. It's likely that, for many readers, there will be a striking sense of "other" in the narrative, and that's part of what makes this such an enriching read.

I listened to the audio format, which was narrated by the author. It was a special treat to hear the story in his own voice.

While I'm not a big fan of memoir in general, I'm glad to have taken the time to let Mr. Scribner tell his story.

Exquisitely Authentic and Inspiring

I found this book to be a very inspiring read about the lineage and the authenticity of the different viewpoints. I am fascinated with the encounters of the “behind-the-scenes” of many authors that we think we know, and how things worked on the publishing front from a namesake himself.