Collins Reference and Education
William Collins spent his earliest years teaching before starting his publishing venture in 1819. More
The Downing Street Years
Compelling account of Thatcher’s remarkable life in her own words. More
Education and Publishing
Beginning in 1830, the Harper brothers believed that the increasingly literate populace might clamor for turnkey collections. More
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Tudor court seen as never before; this take on the Boleyn sisters reinvented the historical novel. More
Howl’s Moving Castle
This popular novel stars one of the most beloved and charismatic characters in children’s literature. More
Empire of the Sun
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. More
Gorky Park
First book in the Arkady Renko series, which became an instant bestseller and changed the crime fiction genre. More
Michael Morpurgo
I like above all to share the excitement of my dreams and discoveries, my doubts and fears, my joys and my sorrows, to take my readers on new journeys with me. More
Doctor Zhivago
Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. More
1856: The first Collins Atlas is published
The first Collins Atlas is published. More
1819: Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book
Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book… More
Veronica Roth
I read because reading changes you. More
Grace for the Moment
Lucado’s bestselling work, with more than 3 million copies in print. More
Agatha Christie at her Devonshire home
Agatha Christie, known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime, is the best-selling novelist in history, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. More
Heaven Is for Real
The life-changing story of a boy who experiences Heaven, with 11 million copies sold. More
1953: William Collins and Sons gains the rights to publish C. S. Lewis…
William Collins and Sons purchases the religious publishing firm of Geoffrey Bles, Ltd., gaining the rights to the works of C. S. Lewis, including his Chronicles of Narnia fantasy books. More
Mere Christianity
Considered one of the most popular introductions to Christianity ever written. More
Letter from C. S. Lewis
In this letter to Collins publisher Billy Collins, dated November 1954, C. S. Lewis—author of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters, among others—outlines what he sees as his three types of “literary output”: “A. Religious and General. B. Fiction. C. Academic.” More
C.S. Lewis and Christianity
Born in 1898 in Belfast, Clive Staples Lewis lost his faith in Christianity at a young age after his mother died and he was sent away to boarding school. More
“The Most Beautiful Printing Ever Done”
James Harper went to Europe in 1835 to compile a set of fairy tales for publication, and Harper & Brothers enlisted Joseph A. Adams to make 81 detailed wood-cut engravings for the collection. More
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
A child’s perspective as a refugee during the rise of Nazism; now a modern classic. More
Hilary Mantel
I read out of hope and avid curiosity, and in an attempt to live in other times, and inhabit bodies that are not my own. More
King James Version Bible (KJV)
Since granted the license to print the Bible in 1839, Collins has sold tens of millions of copies. More
1902: Collins publishes the first Gem…
Collins publishes the first Gem, a Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary that has 608 pages and is 2½" x 4½" in size. More
Tracy Chevalier
I read because I want to know what it’s like to look at the world through someone else’s eyes, and reading is a remarkably efficient and vigorous way of doing that. More
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly
Memoir offering a haunting, harrowing look inside the cruel prison of locked-in syndrome. More
The Odyssey of Homer
Hailed as “the best translation there is of a great, perhaps the greatest, poet” (New York Times Book Review). More