Charles Edward Mudie

MUDIE, Charles Edward. b. Chelsea, London, 18 October 1818; d. Hampstead, London, 28 October 1890. Mudie followed in his father’s footsteps as a bookseller. He established his own shop in Bloomsbury in 1840, and for a time was also in business as a publisher. In 1842 he founded the subscription library for which he is chiefly remembered. At its peak this had over 25,000 subscribers, with branches in several parts of London, as well as Birmingham and Manchester. The library exercised a great influence over the literary tastes of the 19th century and Mudie was known for his insistence that it should stock only works of an acceptable moral tone. For example, he was influential in promoting the...