The Penguin Chase If and when Sir Allen Lane, the
creator and controller of Penguin Books, decides to retire, who will succeed him? He is a mere sixty, and full of vigour, but for a long time has been given to wishful thoughts of retirement. For that reason, and also because Penguin has the aura of a national institution as much as that of a fabulously successful publishing business, he must not be surprised if people speculate. The Guardian last week described Mr. Anthony God- win, formerly a bookseller and now Penguin's chief editor, as the Crown Prince. The outer gossips nodded and the inner gossips shook their heads, and they all for the moment forgot Mr. Harry Paroissien, Sir Allen's deputy, who will almost certainly take over in due course. But Mr. Paroissien is only five years younger than his boss. The question is, who will succeed him? Mr. Gbdwin. as the Guardian's headline suggested? Betting is much heavier on Mr. Jack Morpurgo, who is at present the Director of the National Book League. He spent five years with Sir Allen immediately after the war and has kept in closest touch with him ever since as friend and con- sultant. Although he is not much in the Penguin offices these days, he still has an assistant on the strength. Both he and Mr. Godwin are in their early forties; both are shrewd, tough, forceful and efficient; both, presumably, are ambitious. Sir Allen can keep people guessing longer than Mr. Macmillan, and people in and around the book business will, I suspect, have plenty to en- gage their curiosity long after the issue is decided between Mr. Heath and Mr. Maudling (or who- ever).
Previous page
