Victorian Literary Businesses

Marrisa Joseph is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has published aspects of her research in peer reviewed journals including Business History and the Academy of Management Proceedings, and has won numerous grants including from the Barnett Foundation. Marrisa’s research has received the Journal of Management History Award for Best International Paper at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting. In addition, she was shortlisted for the K. Austin Kerr prize for the best first paper delivered at the Business History Conference by a new scholar. Prior to completing her PhD in Business & Management from Queen Mary, University of London, UK, Marrisa worked in the publishing industry in marketing and also rights management.

“As a book historian, I welcome fresh insight into the business practices of Victorian authors and publishers, because so much remains that we do not know about the Victorian publishing world. … I would rate Victorian Literary Businesses a good introduction to Victorian publishing practice that covers the main players in the literary marketplace.” (Troy J. Bassett, Victorian Studies, Vol. 64 (3), 2022)

• ​Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Institutional Routines and the Victorian Publishing Industry.- Chapter 3: Authorship: Legitimation of a Literary Profession.- Chapter 4: Literary Agents: Middlemen of the Industry.- Chapter 5: Publishing Power Houses.- Chapter 6: The Macmillans: A Leviathan House.- Chapter 7: Protecting the Future: Literary Professional Associations.- Chapter 8: Conclusion.