Frederic Chapman
Frederic Chapman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1823 Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | Error: Need valid birth date (second date): year, month, day London, England |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Years active | 1841–1895 |
| Known for | Partner at Chapman & Hall; publisher of works by Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
Frederic Chapman (1823 – 1 March 1895) was a prominent publisher during the Victorian period who became a partner at Chapman & Hall, a firm recognized for issuing works by Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Early life
Frederic Chapman was born in 1823 on Cork Street in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, as the youngest child of Michael and Mary Chapman. He received his education at Hitchin Grammar School before entering the publishing world at age eighteen as a clerk with Chapman & Hall. Established in 1834 and managed by his cousin Edward Chapman, the company initially operated from 186 Strand, moved to 193 Piccadilly in 1850, and eventually settled at Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, in 1881.
Joining Chapman & Hall
After William Hall’s death in 1847, Frederic steadily rose within the firm, becoming a partner by 1858. The partnership was publicly announced in The Bookseller on 24 December 1858, emphasizing his active involvement in the company’s management. As noted in Charles Dickens and his Publishers (1978), Chapman's period of leadership coincided with expansion fueled by the growth of railways, circulating libraries, and leisure activities among the middle class. Dickens’s return to Chapman & Hall in 1859 allowed Chapman to initiate the periodical All the Year Round, introduce fresh serialized fiction, and reissue earlier titles, all of which contributed to increased profitability.
Chapman shared a long and close professional bond with Dickens. Dickens first partnered with Chapman & Hall in 1836 when William Hall agreed to publish The Pickwick Papers. The firm also released several other Dickens works including Nicholas Nickleby, Master Humphrey's Clock, Barnaby Rudge, The Old Curiosity Shop, Martin Chuzzlewit, and A Christmas Carol. After a hiatus during which Dickens worked with Bradbury & Evans, he resumed collaboration with Chapman & Hall from 1859 onward. The company additionally published important titles such as the second edition of Thomas Carlyle's Life of Schiller in 1845 and later secured Carlyle’s copyrights around its incorporation circa 1880.
Publisher and writer Percy Fitzgerald, also connected to Chapman & Hall, characterized Frederic as direct and possessing keen commercial judgment. Although Edward Chapman remained involved, Frederic assumed much of the firm’s operational duties. He was noted for his commanding presence and maintained an elegant residence in Ovington Square, where a billiard room had been converted into a dining space.
Becoming a Partner
In 1860 Frederic Chapman launched The Fortnightly Review, which transitioned to a bi-monthly publication from 1865 under editor George Henry Lewes. With John Morley taking over as editor in 1867, it became a monthly journal. Despite editorial shifts involving figures such as T. H. S. Escott, Frank Harris, and W. L. Courtney, the periodical struggled financially. To secure funding in 1869, Chapman sold one-third of the company to Anthony Trollope, who transferred his stake to his son Henry Merivale Trollope; Henry remained a partner for three and a half years. Following Edward Chapman's retirement in 1866, Frederic assumed full leadership of the firm.
Chapman adopted a strategic approach prioritizing large-scale sales through major distributors targeting railway travelers and overseas markets, allowing substantial volume with minimal administrative overhead. His firm published distinguished authors including William Makepeace Thackeray, Thomas Carlyle, Harrison Ainsworth, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Arthur Hugh Clough, Charles Lever, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Kingsley, Anthony Trollope, and George Meredith. In 1880 he transformed the business into a limited company while continuing as its head until his passing.
On 28 March 1870, shortly before his death, Charles Dickens entered into an agreement with Frederic Chapman and Henry Trollope confirming their joint ownership of his literary copyrights. After Dickens passed away, Chapman obtained full rights and nurtured connections with Dickens's family members such as Georgina Hogarth and Mary Dickens, who edited Dickens's correspondence. This association substantially bolstered Chapman & Hall's financial standing.
Throughout his life, Chapman maintained close relationships with prominent literary figures of his time and was recognized as an enthusiastic sportsman.
Personal life
Frederic Chapman passed away from influenza on 1 March 1895 at his residence in London. He entered into matrimony twice: initially in 1861 with Clara Woodin from Petersham, Surrey, with whom he fathered a son, Frederic Hamilton Chapman, who served as an officer in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Clara died in late 1866 after experiencing the loss of a child earlier that winter. In 1867, Chapman remarried, this time to Annie Marion Harding, daughter of Sir Robert Harding; they had a daughter named Reine, who later wed Harold Brooke Alder.