Edward Chapman (publisher)

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Edward Chapman (13 January 1804 – 20 February 1880) was a British publisher who co-founded Chapman & Hall with William Hall. They published many famous writers, including Charles Dickens (from 1840 to 1844 and again from 1858 to 1870), William Thackeray, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Anthony Trollope, Eadweard Muybridge, and Evelyn Waugh.

Born into a large family, Edward was one of nine children. His father was Thomas Chapman, a solicitor, and his mother was Sophia Barrett. He loved books and chose to make a life in publishing, while his brothers pursued other careers. In 1830 he and William Hall opened a bookselling and publishing shop at 186 Strand, London, after buying a small journal called Chat Of The Week. Chapman had a talent for spotting saleable books, and Hall handled the business side.

Chapman & Hall focused on illustrated fiction and magazines, published weekly or monthly. The firm played a key role in bringing Charles Dickens to prominence. The Pickwick Papers, started under their banner, became a huge success and helped establish Dickens and the publishers financially.

Edward Chapman married Mary Whiting in 1841, after a romance aided by his own determined effort to communicate with her. They had three children: Meta (Margaret), Florence, and Reginald. He also hired his cousin Frederic Chapman in 1841; Frederic would later become a partner in 1858 and, after Edward retired in 1866, the sole proprietor of the firm.

After William Hall’s death in 1847, the company continued under Chapman and later under Frederic Chapman. Edward Chapman died in 1880 at Elm Lodge in Hitchin and was buried there with his wife.

In popular culture, Ian McNeice portrays Chapman in the 2017 film The Man Who Invented Christmas, about Charles Dickens and the creation of A Christmas Carol.