Arena Publishing Co.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Founder | B. O. Flower |
| Defunct | 1896 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Books, periodicals (The Arena magazine) |
Arena Publishing Company was a United States-based publisher active in the late 1800s, established by writer and editor B. O. Flower.
Company history
Located in Boston's Copley Square, this enterprise concentrated on both fiction and nonfiction works addressing progressive issues prominent in the 1890s. Functioning from 1890 until 1896, Arena released publications authored by influential progressive thinkers, earning a reputation as the "notoriously radical Arena Publishing Company."
The company's catalog emphasized themes of political and economic reform alongside progressive religious ideologies, including titles authored by Flower himself. Marketing materials promoted "significant books for discerning readers" centered on "modern progressive ideas and initiatives." Arena was notable for issuing numerous utopian novels and speculative narratives, reflecting a popular literary movement in late 19th-century America. From 1892 through 1896, the firm produced more than twenty volumes of imaginative fiction, such as Gustavus W. Pope's Journey to Venus the Primeval World; Its Wonderful Creations and Gigantic Monsters (1895).
Prominent authors and notable titles published by Arena included:
- Hamlin Garland, Main-Travelled Roads (1891)
- Hamlin Garland, A Spoil of Office (1892)
- Hamlin Garland, Jason Edward (1892)
- Byron Brooks, Earth Revisited (1892)
- Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant, Unveiling a Parallel (1893)
- Elbert Hubbard, One Day: A Tale of the Prairies (1893)
- Elbert Hubbard, Forbes of Harvard (1894)
- Solomon Schindler, Young West (1894)
- Castello Holford, Aristopia (1895)
- John McCoy, A Prophetic Romance (1896)
- William D. McCrackan, The Rise of the Swiss Republic (1892)
The publisher’s radical approach extended beyond content to book design; Flower rejected conventional black-on-white printing due to concerns about eye strain. For instance, Schindler's Young West, a follow-up to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, incorporated colored borders in shades of blue, green, or yellow.
Arena also produced socially conscious popular fiction such as Helen H. Gardener's feminist novel Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter? (1892) and M. L. Cowles's depiction of plantation life in Redpath: Life on a Southern Plantation (1893). Flower’s involvement with spiritualism—including his role on the American Psychical Society board—influenced the publication of works like Mary Clay Knapp's spiritual-themed novel Whose Soul Have I Now? (1896).
Beyond book publishing, Arena issued a monthly periodical titled The Arena, under Flower’s editorial direction. The magazine promoted itself as "the foremost progressive review worldwide," featuring contributions from Garland, Schindler, as well as early writings by authors such as Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, and Upton Sinclair. Circulation reached approximately 30,000 copies. Although financial troubles caused the company’s closure in 1896, the magazine persisted under different ownership.
Further reading
- The Arena. Boston: Arena Publishing Co.; New York: Alliance Publishing Co.; Trenton, NJ: Albert Brandt, 1889-1909.