William Tinsley (publisher)

[4] A few months later William followed him, walking from South Mimms to Notting Hill, where he quickly found work and lodging.

[5] Both brothers were fond of books: William spent his evenings looking through bookshops and Edward quit his job with the railway to work for a small magazine Diogenes.

[7] After a slow start, the firm had its first major success with Mary Elizabeth Braddon's first novel Lady Audley's Secret in 1862.

[10] He continued to publish new authors, with, most notably, the first books of Thomas Hardy and G. A. Henty and the first novels of Richard Jefferies.

The magazine published short fiction and serialisations of books that Tinsley Brothers were bringing out, including Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes.

[18] The final decades of the firm were marked by repeated financial crises; and in 1887, Tinsley Brothers had liabilities of £1,000.

[21] Tinsley was an unorthodox businessman, often working without formal agreements; and what he saw as fair dealing might come across as sharp practice to those who lost by it.