A Boy at the Hogarth Press

Imagine if your first job was as Virginia Woolf's gofer
It is 1926 and Richard Kennedy, a naïf 16-year-old with a talent for drawing, finds himself apprenticed to the Hogarth Press. The publishers are the formidable but fascinating Leonard and Virginia Woolf. And so the delightful misadventures begin: Richard tries his hand at love with London's fast women (at 16?), building a high shelf in the press room that won't fall on the prickly Leonard (it does), and making an executive decision about the printing of one of Mrs. W's books (doomed). All through this joyful romp, he gives us a rare glimpse of Bloomsbury through the back door.

A beloved illustrator of children's books, Richard wrote this bestseller in 1972. Yet for years it was all but lost. With the help of his original publisher and his daughters, we have brought its enchantment to life again.

This charming coming-of-age tale captures a special moment in literary history—but even more, that moment of magic in our once-young lives when we first learn that a larger world awaits us. And despite its muddles, it holds welcome and promise. 8 3/4" x 8 3/4", 104 pages, bound in linen and filled with the author's exuberant illustrations, including a whimsical foldout poster of Upstairs/Downstairs life with the Woolfs. Available only from Levenger.

Click here to read a few excerpts.

Click here for a look behind the book.