Methuen and Company was founded in 1889 by Algernon Methuen Marshall Stedman (later Algernon Stedman). Methuen developed a list of popular fiction, but also published the literary work of many distinguished writers, including Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wellls and Henry James. It published work which was radical for its time, including Oscar Wilde's De Profundis and the first edition of D. H. Lawrence's The Rainbow in 1915, which was impounded by police.
The firm has specialised in the publication of affordable editions, often published in series; for example Methuen's Standard Library of classic titles, and Methuens Modern Classics, which consisted of abridgements of popular classics for school use. Throughout its history the firm has consistently published drama, from the Arden Shakespeare series, to the Methuen's Modern Plays series, and the Revels Series of Shakespearean-era plays. Its children's list has included such popular authors as Kenneth Grahame, A. A. Milne, and Enid Blyton.
In 1957 Methuen and Company, together with its subsidiary Chapman and Hall, merged with the publishing company Eyre and Spottiswoode, and a parent company, Associate Book Publishers, was formed; Sweet and Maxwell joined in 1961. By 1986 Methuen General Books was the parent division for Methuen London, Methuen Children's Books, and Eyre and Spottiswoode, and subsidiaries published in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Thomson International bought Associate Book Publishers in 1987 and sold it to Paul Hamlyn's Octopus Group, where Methuen became a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier.
