This thesis examines the beginning of the publishing activities of the bookselling enterprise founded by John Inglis Lothian (1851-1940) in 1888 by the son of the founder, Thomas C. Lothian (1880-1974) who commenced publishing with a book of verse in 1905. It ends at 1945, when Thomas Lothian began to withdraw from active management to make way for his sons. The influence of two world wars in the phases of expansion and contraction in this publishing activity is demonstrated by this coverage. The strenuous attempts to introduce Lothian's publications into Britain were coupled with the growth of agencies, including the important representation of Penguin Books in Australia by Lothian until the end of the Second World War.
