[6] The family concern with children's literature went back to 1787, with two publishing firms of Frederick's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, William Darton.
Together they worked on A Wonder Book of Beasts (1909), in which Emma retold "Reynard the Fox" from a version printed by William Caxton 400 years before.
The protagonists of both end up in the family book trade, and although they are not autobiographical, they have been described by Margaret Drabble, when investigating Darton, as "darkly illuminating".
[16] Darton noted in his account how Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books "changed the whole cast of children's literature.
[18] Darton retired to Cerne Abbas, Dorset, living at the village Red Lion pub for the last two years of his life.
Darton died after a short illness in Dorchester County Hospital, on 26 July 1936, two days after the publication of Alibi Pilgrimage.
His opportunities for detailed information about and round the subject were unique, for his family had maintained a continuous connection with publishing for 140 years."