The 42nd Parallel
The first volume of the “brilliantly original” (Alfred Kazan) U.S.A. trilogy, a landmark of modernism. More
James Harper, Mayor Of New York City
With corruption rampant in New York City politics, the newly formed American Republican Party convinced James Harper, one of the brothers who had founded J. & J. Harper in 1817, to run for mayor. More
Ariel
Plath’s landmark poetry collection; includes “Ariel,” “Daddy,” and “Lady Lazarus.” More
Publishing Firsts: Stereotyping
The Harper brothers first began publishing in the early 1800s, when emerging technologies were fundamentally changing the process of printing–replacing the painstaking compositing, inking, and pulling processes needed for each page. More
1972: Avon launches the historical romance genre…
Avon launches the historical romance genre when it publishes Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower, a historical romance with a strong female lead and sexual situations that go a step beyond the tame romances of earlier eras. More
HarperOne
In 1977, a handful of Harper & Row employees from the Religious Books Department moved from New York to San Francisco to focus on titles pertaining to mind, body, and spirit. More
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
While giving a talk to a group of men and women about relationships, author John Gray realized he had a hook for a new book. More
Meg Cabot
I write because of readers like Diana Moreno, who handed me a letter recently telling me that, as the firstborn daughter of immigrants, she felt lonely and shy when she arrived here in 2004 . . . until she found my books. More
Inventing the Western
Zane Grey and A. B. Guthrie Jr. were considered two of the foremost writers on the American West. 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
The Pre-Packaged Library
The Harper brothers created collections of titles that allowed readers to amass an entire library instead of buying just a single book. More
1833: J. & J. Harper is renamed Harper & Brothers
J. & J. Harper is renamed Harper & Brothers to reflect the addition of brothers Fletcher and Joseph Wesley Harper to the firm. More
Papillon
A bestselling phenomenon and classic memoir of prison breaks and adventure. More
The Birth of Perry Mason
Head of William Morrow and Company (later acquired by HarperCollins) since the death of its founder in 1931, Thayer Hobson searched widely for promising new authors, often traveling to Europe in pursuit of his next big title. More
The Years of Extermination
The Pulitzer Prize–winning Holocaust history, hailed as “a masterpiece” (New York Times Book Review). More
The Publisher of presidents
HarperCollins is the publisher of many United States presidents–beginning with the very first one. More
From Clerk to Chairman of the Board
One summer day in 1884, Horatio Harper, grandson of founder John Harper, began talking with a bright young boy during his regular steamboat commute from Long Island to Manhattan. More
Textbook Publishing: Row, Peterson & Co.
Robert Row was a textbook author and teacher. More
Riders of the Purple Sage
Often called “the most popular Western novel of all time,” this classic helped shape the Western genre. More
Eugene Exman and Martin Luther King
Shortly after the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 and ‘56, Harper & Brothers religious books editor Eugene Exman left New York City for Alabama and secured a meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. More
1924: “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie joins the house of Collins…
“Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie joins the house of Collins, and two years later publishes her seminal Hercule Poirot novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. More
Social Change: Sex in the 20th Century
In between the two world wars, Harper authors tackled the then taboo subject of sex. More
Mark Twain
In 1866, with mostly newspaper articles and other short works to his name, Mark Twain accepted an assignment from the Sacramento Union to produce a weekly column from Hawaii. More
1927: Harper & Brothers signs Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World…
Harper & Brothers signs Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World. More
Freakonomics
Multimillion-copy bestseller that helped launch a wave of interest in behavioral economics and statistics. More
Pilgrim
A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
The Woman in White
One of the earliest works of detective fiction, this story caused a sensation with readers at the time. More