Michael Joseph
Michael Joseph is a London publisher founded in 1935, first publisher of Wyndham's The Chrysalids and Lessing's The Golden Notebook, and a Penguin imprint since 1985.
- Editions tracked
- 116
- First editions
- 89
- Books
- 116
- Years
- 1939 to 2019
About Michael Joseph
Michael Joseph is a London publisher founded on 5 September 1935 by the bestselling author Michael Joseph, and it is now Penguin Michael Joseph, the commercial fiction and non-fiction imprint of Penguin Random House.
The company began as a subsidiary of Victor Gollancz Ltd, which put £4,000 into it. After disagreements, including Gollancz's attempt to censor Philip Gibbs's Across the Frontiers, Joseph bought out the Gollancz interest in 1938. Its authors included H. E. Bates, C. S. Forester, Monica Dickens, Richard Llewellyn, Paul Gallico, Richard Gordon, Vita Sackville-West and Derek Tangye. Michael Joseph first published John Wyndham's The Chrysalids (1955) and Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook (1962). After the founder's death his widow, Anthea Joseph, steered the firm through the difficulties that followed.
Penguin Books acquired the company in 1985, fifty years after both firms were founded. Today the imprint concentrates on women's fiction, crime and thrillers, cookery, memoir and lifestyle, with authors such as Marian Keyes, Jojo Moyes and Jamie Oliver.
How to spot a Michael Joseph first edition
AuthorsClive Cussler (15)Dick Francis (12)James Baldwin (6)C. S. Forester (6)James Herriot (5)Dirk Cussler (4)Jack Du Brul (3)Bernard Cornwell (3)Janet Dailey (3)Stephen Fry (3)
SeriesOregon FilesDirk PittHoratio HornblowerThe Warlord ChroniclesThemis FilesAvalon SeriesIsaac BellOrphan X
Published by Michael Joseph
- Michael Joseph1941 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1946 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1947 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1950 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1952 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1954 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1955 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1955 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1955 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- 1st Michael Joseph1956 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1957 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1957 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
- Michael Joseph1962 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a Michael Joseph first edition?
How many Michael Joseph books does MyVolumes track?
We track 116 editions published by Michael Joseph, 89 of them first editions, across 116 books.
Where these facts come from
- Michael Joseph (publisher), Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Penguin Michael Joseph, Penguin Books UK (penguin.co.uk)
- The Chrysalids, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- The Golden Notebook, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- First Editions of Today and How to Tell Them (3rd edn), H. S. Boutell, Internet Archive, 1949 (archive.org)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026.