Max Reinhardt (2) (1915–2002)

Max Reinhardt was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) to Austrian parents. They wanted him to have an English education, so he attended the city's English High School, where developed a love of British literature. He continued his studies at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris and the London School of Economics. In 1938, he persuaded his parents to set up a branch of their shipping and insurance business in London, which he headed. During World War II, he met A.S. Frere, chairman of the publishing house William Heinemann Ltd., who inspired him to go into book publishing. Reinhardt bought HFL Publishers, a small company that specialized in accounting textbooks. He soon expanded into general publishing, with his first author being George Bernard Shaw. Moving in theatrical circles, Reinhardt met and had a brief marriage to actress Margaret Leighton. In 1948, with Anthony Quayle and Ralph Richardson, Reinhardt established a new publishing house named Max Reinhardt Ltd. In 1957, Reinhardt and a banker partner bought the The Bodley Head company, and built an editorial team with Graham Greene as director. The Bodley Head published Greene's novels, as well as works by Eric Ambler, Alistair Cooke, Maurice Sendak, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, William Trevor, and many others. The Bodley Head was eventually acquired by Random House, and Reinhardt left the firm. He retained ownership of HFL, which he renamed Reinhardt Books, and also continued to publish under the Nonesuch Press imprint.