G. H. (George Herbert) Perris

Born in 1866 and active in Britain as a journalist and publisher, George Herbert Perris is best remembered as the originator of the Home University Library of Modern Knowledge, a long-running series of accessible non-fiction books for general readers.

He was also a prolific author and pamphleteer. His published works include books on the South African War, protectionism, revolutionary Russia, Germany, the First World War, and the industrial history of modern England, showing how closely he followed the major political and social questions of his time.

Perris died in 1920. The surviving record available here points to a career built around explaining current affairs and ideas to ordinary readers in a direct, practical way.