Cadell and Davies

Jane Austen's first attempt at publishing was by her father. In November 1797, Rev George Austen sent off First Impressions, an early draft of Pride and Prejudice, to London publisher Cadell and Davies a large reputable publishing house.  The novel, however, was declined by return of post. Perhaps this was for the best, as we now have the much loved revised version of Pride and Prejudice we know today. 

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Crosby & Co.

In 1803, Jane Austen sold a copy of her manuscript Susan, an early draft of Northanger Abbey to Crosby & Co. for the sum of £10. However, the publishers kept hold of the manuscript and never published it. Austen wrote to ask if the manuscript had been lost, and they advised they would release it at the sum it was purchased for. Unfortunately Austen was unable to purchase the manuscript at the time.

 

Her brother Henry was able to purchase the manuscript in 1816 for the same sum of £10, and Austen was able to revise it.  Unfortunately she did not live to see it published, her brother published it together with Persuasion the following year. 

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Some critics have argued that the reason they did not publish Susan was because they were not significant fiction publishers. However, the publishers were actually the fourth leading publisher of novels during the 1800s, which may be why Austen chose them to approach with her first attempt to publish. 

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One other explanation for not going ahead with the publishing of Susan is that they were quite committed to publishing gothic literature, which had very popular at the time but was in a steady decline. Jane Austen herself had satirised popular gothic novels in the book and made reference to several others. Susan was, however, advertised as being in press in a list of books to be published by Crosby & Co in 1803 so there must have been some intention to publish the novel. 

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Thomas Egerton

Thomas Egerton was a bookseller and London publisher, and was Austen's first actual publisher.  He accepted Sense and Sensibility for publication in three volumes in 1811 and the book was published in 1813. Austen paid for the book to be published and then paid a commission on sales of the book. This cost the Austen family, and she only made a profit of £140. 1,000 copies of the novel were published and sold out, and a second edition was released a few month later. 

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Before the first edition of Sense and Sensibility had sold out, Austen sold one off rights to Egerton for £450 for Pride and Prejudice. This turns out to be the sum that she had paid Egerton to produce the first printing of Sense and Sensibility. He lost some of Austen's trust by publishing a second edition without her knowledge.

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He published Mansfield Park in 1814 but he did not publish a second edition. It is said he lacked expertise in marketing, which led to poor sales and Egerton did not want to risk a loss in profits.  The publisher ceased business in 1830. 

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John Murray

The John Murray publishing company was founded in London in 1768. It was his son, John Murray II, who really took off the company. He had a lot of connections to many leading writers of the time, such as Sir Walter Scott, Washington Irving and Lord Byron. He also was a publisher of Jane Austen. 

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Austen moved to the publisher following her success with her early novels, as Murray was more notable. Murray published Emma in 1815, with it's dedication to the Prince Regent. 

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Austen made the decision to publish on commission, meaning she took on the expense of publishing, whilst Murray took 10% commission on all profits. Sadly she would have earned more by selling the copyrights outright for £450. 

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Egerton would not publish a second edition of Mansfield Park, but Murray did in 1816 following the publication of Emma. Through his connections with Sir Walter Scott, Emma was reviewed in the Quarterly Review, but Austen was not pleased at the complete omission of Mansfield Park.  

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The publishing company is still active today.