Publisher George Weidenfeld: A Maverick Who Became a Lord
The ebullient Weidenfeld, who seems to have hosted several parties a week for most of his 96 years, promoted free speech for everyone, publishing controversial works such as ‘Lolita’ and ‘The Group.’

‘The Maverick: George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing’
By Thomas Harding
Pegasus Books, 336 pages
In 1938, George Weidenfeld, an Austrian-Jewish refugee, landed at London. Speaking several languages and conversant in the literature of Europe, he had a gift for friendship that soon enthralled Nigel Nicolson, who persuaded his parents, Sir Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West, to bankroll Weidenfeld and Nicolson, which became known as a publisher of controversial works such as “Lolita” and “The Group.”
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