> Skip to content

Article  •  19 November 2018

 

The first Penguin Classic

The 1946 origin story of one of the world’s best-loved literary series.

In the words of English playwright, author and actor, a classic is ‘a book that everyone is assumed to have read and often thinks they have’. So, how many have you read?

Penguin Classics amass the largest library of classic literature in the world today, and more titles join the list every year. In the early days, the editors were concerned they would run out: ‘How many more titles in the classical literature of the world are there?’ asked Penguin editor-in-chief William Emrys Williams apprehensively, after 60 Penguin Classics had been published. He needn’t have worried. As times have changed, so too has this extraordinary list. Even the very definition of ‘classic’ continues to evolve and expand to embrace new languages, formats, styles and audiences. The Penguin Classics Book celebrates the literary merit, historical significance and an enduring reputation of every book on the list. Here is the story of the unlikely translation that started it all.

On chilly nights, amidst the wail of air raid sirens and the whine of doodlebugs, a man stood on the roof of Birkbeck College in central London, scanning the skyline for fires. Emile Victor Rieu passed the time on these long, lonely shifts translating and re-translating Homer’s Odyssey: ‘I went back to Homer,’ he recalled, ‘the supreme realist… by way of escape from the unrealities that surrounded us.’

Towards the end of the Second World War, with his wife’s encouragement, Rieu submitted his translation to Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books. It was not a promising proposal on the face of it: eight versions of the Odyssey had been published between the wars, including five new translations, of which only two had sold more than 3,000 copies. Moreover, Rieu was not an established academic. He was a retired publisher of educational textbooks; his one previous publication was a 1932 collection of whimsical children’s verse called Cuckoo Calling. In a characteristically impulsive and ultimately shrewd move, however, Lane not only accepted Rieu’s translation of the Odyssey, he appointed him general editor of a new Penguin series, a ‘Translation Series from the Greek, Roman and other classics’.

‘Something important has happened,’ reported Reynolds’ News in January 1946. ‘There is a new translation of The Odyssey, a very contemporary translation, and it costs only one shilling. This is revolutionary.’ Rieu’s Odyssey sold over three million copies. In fact, it was the bestselling of all Penguin books until it was finally overtaken by Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1960. ‘The King is already familiar with your admirable translation of The Odyssey,’ read a treasured note from Buckingham Palace, ‘and looks forward to reading The Iliad.’

Feature Title

The Penguin Classics Book
A complete and wondrous guide to all of the Penguin Classics, from the Creative Editor of the series
Read more

More features

See all
Article
Shaun Johnson Book Signings

Meet Shaun Johnson as he launches his autobiography!

Article
Booker Prize shortlist 2025

The shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize has been announced, with four Penguin Random House titles named this year.

Article
Your guide to Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series

Here’s what you need to know about Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series – including which order to read the books!

Article
Poison or pasta sauce? A guide to New Zealand's edible weeds

Becky, our Penguin NZ Director, shares 5 ways to use 5 edible weeds she found in her garden with the help of Andrew Crowe's Edible Weeds Handbook!

Article
10 black cat boyfriends from must-read books

It’s official: the internet has dubbed Conrad Fisher a ‘black cat boyfriend’. Here are a few other black cat book boyfriends to keep you swooning.

Article
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori catalogue 2025

Kōrerotia te reo this Māori Language Week 2025 with our selection of Māori Language books.

Article
What we're gifting this Father's Day

For Father's Day 2025, we're celebrating how books can keep us close to our dads and dad-like figures.

Article
Romantasy Recommendations

Wanting to get into reading romantasy but not sure where to start? Read on for our top picks of the genre!

Article
QUIZ: Which Hawthorne brother is your soulmate?

Take this quiz to find out which Hawthorne brother from The Inheritance Games series would be your perfect match.

Article
The Lottie Brooks books, in order

Don’t know which order to read the Lottie Brooks books? Find out which to read first, and learn a little bit about each book.

Article
Your guide to pre-ordering Alchemised

Learn how to pre-order Alchemised by SenLin Yu and join the thousands of readers who will start reading it on 23 September 2025.

Article
Penguin Picks for July: Books we've been loving

Want to know what books the Penguin NZ team have been reading and loving recently? Read on for our recommendations!

Looking for more articles?

See all articles