The Graphic History Company recently completed the Author Mural, commissioned to celebrate nearly 250 years of literary history at Hachette UK's landmark London building, Carmelite House, on the north bank of the Thames.
The mural features the names of prominent authors published by Hachette UK from the foundation of the group's oldest publishing house, John Murray, in 1768, to the present day, including Charles Darwin, Jane Austen, Bram Stoker, Vladimir Nabokov, Enid Blyton, Daphne du Maurier, Nelson Mandela, J. M. Barrie, Goscinny & Uderzo, JK Rowling and Malala Yousafzai. It also features Nobel and literary award winning authors and key moments in the history of the company, such as the notorious burning of Lord Byron's scandalous memoirs in 1824.
The work is the result of extensive research carried out by the Graphic History Company in partnership with The British Library, resulting in a database of over 55,000 authors published collectively by Hachette's publishing companies over the course of their long and illustrious history. The mural features the names of nearly 4,000 authors and will grow over time as the names of new writers are added in coming years.
Every author's name has been drawn by hand by illustrator Kate Forrester in a flowing design that references the Thames side location of Hachette's new offices on Victoria Embankment. The mural runs throughout the atrium, stairwells and corridors of the office, spanning 6 floors and 450 square metres of wall space.