The Bodley Head

The Bodley Head
Parent companyPenguin Random House
Founded1887; 137 years ago (1887)
FoundersJohn Lane and Elkin Mathews
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
Publication typesBooks
Official websitewww.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/vintage/bodley-head.html

The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortiums until it was acquired by Random House in 1987 alongside sister companies Jonathan Cape and Chatto & Windus. Random House used The Bodley Head as a children's book imprint until April 2008, when it was repositioned as an adult non-fiction imprint within the Vintage Books division.

The Bodley Head launched Penguin Books as an imprint in 1935, which John Lane spun off as an independent company the following year. The Bodley Head acquired several other imprints prior to the Random House acquisition, including Martin Hopkinson and Gerald Howe in 1941, Nonesuch Press in 1953, Werner Laurie in 1957, and Hollis & Carter in 1962.[1]

  1. ^ "FOB: Firms Out of Business". norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved 13 December 2023.