Thomas Fisher Unwin was born on 24 January 1848 in 33 Lowgate Hill, London.

He attended the City of London School and then worked for the London publishing firm, Jackson, Walford, and Hodder (which was the predecessor firm of Hodder & Stoughton).

In 1885, he started a British book series titled The Story of the Nations.

It reflected his views, which were liberal and internationalist; and also his wife's interest in abolitionism and suffragism.

[1] The series was published in the USA by G. P. Putnam, though not in identical form.