It is not unusual for periodicals to produce books applauding their own achievements, especially on their anniversaries, but this volume, put together by the editorial staff of the London Review of Books to celebrate the 40th anniversary of what they call “the paper”, is singular. Though a sort of anthology, it is more like a handsomely produced scrapbook, with photographic reproductions of original letters, draft articles and scribbled notes. (Great diplomacy has been shown in getting the permissions to reproduce some of these.) The result is a kind of coffee table book of intellectual contention.
The LRB began in 1979, when the labour dispute at the Times meant that the Times Literary Supplement was not appearing. Karl Miller, former editor of the Listener and head of English at University College London, decided to start a new review. His former deputy at the Listener, Mary-Kay Wilmers, joined him. This volume illustrates the LRB’s rickety yet oddly confident beginnings, first as an insert within the New York Review of Books, which initially provided necessary funding. It split off a year later. Wilmers had inherited some money – “I didn’t want it … So I found a use for it” – and when Miller left in 1992 Wilmers became editor, and is still.
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