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Business Movers

Hatching Penguin | Penguin's Millions | 3

Business Movers

Wondery

History, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As Penguin faces increased competition from new paperback publishers, Allen Lane seeks new ways to keep his books at the top of the best sellers charts – including a risky plan that might put him behind bars.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey Prime members, you can listen to BusinessMovers ad free on Amazon Music.

0:05.0

Download the app today. It's October 25th, 1960 at the old Bailey Criminal Court in London, England.

0:30.0

The room is

0:33.0

Alan Lane is shown to the grand courtroom and makes his way to the witness stand.

0:38.0

Penguin Books, Britain's largest publisher, has been summoned to court to answer charges that the company has broken obscenity laws.

0:46.0

Penguin recently published Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, a novel which features graphic descriptions of the love affair between an upper-class woman and her gamekeeper.

0:56.0

The book was written back in the 1920s, but no one has dared release a full and uncut version in Britain before. Now penguin's majority

1:05.3

shareholder and managing director must defend his company's actions in court.

1:09.6

If judgment goes against penguin, Alan may have to pay a substantial fine or even go to prison.

1:16.0

Reaching the witness stand, Alan takes a Bible handed to him by an usher and makes a solemn vow.

1:22.0

I swear, by Almighty God, that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

1:29.0

Holland then gives evidence for the defense before the prosecutor rises to his feet and begins his cross-examination.

1:36.0

Now, Mr Lane, how long have you been in charge of Penguin Books?

1:40.0

25 years since I founded the company with my brothers in 1935.

1:44.0

And before that you also worked in the book industry?

1:47.0

Yes, I ran what was my uncle's publishing house, The Bodley Ed.

1:50.0

So you're an experienced publisher and a successful one. Does that make you a good judge of written material? I'd like to think so, yes.

1:59.0

Mr Lane, I have here a cutting from the Manchester Guardian of the 7th of March 1960.

2:05.0

It appears to comment or report upon something which you had said, I gather, immediately

2:09.3

prior to that date.

2:10.8

Will you tell me whether or not is it correct?

2:13.5

My quote, Alan Lane, publisher of Penguin Books, said that in his opinion, Lady Chatterley's

...

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