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Mr Honey\'s Correspondence Dictionary (English German) by Winfried Honig

W >> Winfried Honig >> Mr Honey\'s Correspondence Dictionary (English German)

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This is a work in progress dictionary of phrases commonly used.
This book contains English and equivalent German phrases. We are
releasing two versions of this book, sorted for the English reader and
sorted for the German reader.

Dieses Buch wurde uns freundlicherweise von dem Verfasser zur
Verfügung gestellt.
This book was generously donated to us by the author.

------------------Acknowledgement:
In the 1970s Winfried Honig, known as Mr Honey, started compiling and
computerizing English/German dictionaries, partly to provide his
colleagues and students with samples of the language of business,
partly to collect convincing material for his State Department of
Education to illustrate the need for special dictionaries covering
the special language used in different branches of the industry.

In 1997 Mr Honey began to feed his wordlists into the LEO Online
Dictionary http://dict.leo.org of the Technische Universität München,
and in 2000 into the DicData Online Dictionary http://www.dicdata.de

While more than 500.000 daily visitors use the online versions,
CD-ROM versions are available, see: http://www.leo.org/dict/cd_en.html
http://www.dicdata.de http://mrhoney.purespace.de/latest.htm
Mr. Honey would be pleased to answer questions sent to
winfried.honig@online.de.

Permission granted to use the word-lists, on condition that links to
the sites of LEO, DICDATA and MR HONEY are maintained.

Mr Honey's services are non-commercial to promote the language of
business both in English and in German.-------------------




History and Philosophy

Die Anfänge dieses Wörterbuches gehen zurück in die Zeit als England
der Europäischen Gemeinschaft beitreten wollte.

In einer Gemeinschaftsarbeit von BBC, British Council, dem Dept. of
Educ. und der OUP machte man sich Gedanken, wie man dem
Führungsnachwuchs auf dem Kontinent die englische Wirtschaftssprache
beibringen könnte.

Als einer der wenigen Dozenten, die damals in London
Wirtschaftsenglisch lehrten, kam ich in Kontakt mit dem Projekt.

Da ich mich zu jener Zeit für eine Karriere in der Daten-verarbeitung
oder als Hochschullehrer für Wirtschaftsenglisch entscheiden musste,
wählte ich eine Kombination von beidem.

Als Dozent der FH machte ich den Einsatz von Multimedia in der
Vermittlung von brauchbarem Wirtschaftsenglisch zu meiner Aufgabe.

Für die Anforderungen verschiedener Seminare, Schwerpunkte,
Zielgruppen entstanden aus der praktischen Arbeit die Wortlisten und
Wörterbücher.

Aufgewachsen und geschult in der praktischen Denkweise von A.S.
Hornby, einem Fellow des University College London, legte ich
besonderen Wert auf die hohe Zahl möglichst dienlicher
Anwendungsbeispiele.

Die indizierten sequentiellen Wortlisten der Kompaktversionen,
--anders und meines Erachtens noch viel besser--die großen
sequentiellen Wortlisten der CD-ROM-Versionen mit der stufenweisen
bis globalen Suche in den Wort- und Beispiellisten zunehmenden
Umfangs, ermöglichen eine optimale sprachliche Orientierung in einem
umfangreichen wirtschaftlichen Sprachsschatz.

Dabei sehe ich neue Wege und Möglichkeiten des Erwerbs und des
Umgangs mit der Fachsprache.

Wahrscheinlich bietet sich hier weit mehr als sich im ersten Eindruck
erahnen läßt. Spielerisch sollte es möglich sein, leichter,
schneller und intensiver zu lernen.

Durch die Vielzahl der Assoziationen dürfte sich schneller als bisher
eine gehobene fachsprachliche Kompetenz entwickeln.



A

a business friend of ours einer unserer Geschäftsfreunde
a case of fraudulent bankruptcy ein Fall von betrügerischem Bankrott
a cash discount of 2 per cent ein Skonto von 2 Prozent
a clerical error ein Schreibfehler
a company of good standing eine Firma mit gutem Ansehen
a comparison with other offers Vergleich mit anderen Angeboten
a competent knowledge of fundierte Kenntnisse
a comprehensive brochure eine umfassende Broschüre
a considerable quantity of eine beträchtliche Menge von
a copy of our latest price list unsere neueste Preisliste (Br.)
a copy of our newest price list unsere neueste Preisliste (US)
a copy of the contract duly signed ordentlich unterschriebene Ausfertigung
a copy of the invoice is enclosed eine Kopie der Rechnung liegt bei
a detailed description of eine detaillierte Beschreibung von
a detailed description of eine detaillierte Beschreibung von
a diminution of eine Verminderung von
a faithful colleague ein treuer Kollege
a few days ago vor einigen Tagen
a few orders ein paar Aufträge
a few samples einige Muster
a first-class vessel ein erstklassiges Schiff
a full description of eine vollständige Beschreibung von
a full set einen ganzen Satz
a full statement of accounts ein voller Rechenschaftsbericht
a further decline of prices ein weiteres Sinken der Preise
a further discount of ein weiterer Rabatt von
a further order ein weiterer Auftrag
a general depression in trade eine allgemeine Flaute
a good knowledge of gute Kenntnisse
a good quality at that price eine gute Qualität zu diesem Preis
a good result may be expected ein gutes Ergebnis ist zu erwarten
a large profit may be expected ein großer Gewinn lässt sich erwarten
a large profit may be made großer Gewinn lässt sich erzielen
a larger quantity of eine größere Menge von
a letter containing a cheque ein Brief mit einem Scheck
a letter enclosing a cheque ein Brief mit einem Scheck
a list of our current prices eine Liste der neuesten Preise
a list of our prices eine Liste unserer Preise
a long experience in lange Erfahrungen in
a long experience in business langjährige Erfahrungen im Geschäft
a marked preference for eine besondere Vorliebe für
a merchant of our town ein hiesiger Kaufmann
a mistake has slipped in ein Fehler hat sich eingeschlichen
a mistake in the packing department ein Fehler der sich im Packraum ereignete
a mistake in your statement ein Fehler in Ihrer Abrechnung
a mistake of ours einer Fehler von uns
a mistake on my part ein Fehler meinerseits
a mix up of the parcels eine Verwechslung der Pakete
a month later ein Monat später
a mutual friend of ours ein gemeinsamer Freund
a mutually satisfactory business beiderseitiges zufriedenstellendes Ergebnis
a narrow margin eine sehr kleine Spanne
a new branch of our business eine neue Filiale unseres Geschäftes
a precarious financial situation eine heikle finanzielle Lage
a pretty good business ein ziemlich gutes Geschäft
a price list eine Preisliste
a prosperous new year ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr
a ready sale ein schneller Absatz
a reliable machine eine zuverlässige Maschine
a reasonable commission eine angemessene Provision
a reliable article ein zuverlässiger Artikel
a reliable firm eine zuverlässige Firma
a renewal of your orders eine Erneuerung Ihrer Aufträge
a representative of ours einer unserer Vertreter
a resolution was passed es wurde beschlossen
a rise in price cannot be avoided ein Preisanstieg läßt sich nicht vermeiden
a rise in price is unavoidable ein Preisanstieg ist unvermeidlich
a salesman of ours einer unserer Verkäufer
a scheme of arrangement ein Vergleichsvorschlag
a serious mistake of yours ein ernsthafter Fehler Ihrerseits
a set of samples eine Musterkollection
a shortage in weight ein Fehlgewicht
a showy article ein protziger Artikel
a similar event ein ähnliches Ereignis
a similar occurrence ein ähnliches Ereignis
a slight difference eine kleine Abweichung
a small error has crept in ein kleiner Fehler hat sich eingeschlichen
a small margin of profit eine kleine Gewinnspanne
a special concession eine besondere Vergünstigung
a special discount ein Sonderrabatt
a substantial discount ein beträchtlicher Rabatt
a substantial quantity of eine beträchtliche Menge von
a sudden drop in prices ein plötzliches Nachlassen der Preise
a sufficient capital ausreichendes Kapital
a sufficient quantity on stock eine ausreichende Menge am Lager
a sufficiently large stock ein ausreichendes Lager
a superior grade eine höherwertigere Sorte
a temporary increase eine kurzfristige Ausweitung
a temporary increase of 5 per cent eine vorübergehende Erhöhung um 5 Prozent
a total loss ein Totalschaden
a trade discount of ein Händlerrabatt von
a trading discount of ein Händlerrabatt von
a trial order will convince you eine Probeauftrag wird Sie überzeugen
a two weeks' extension Verlängerung von zwei Wochen
a varied experience in vielfältige Erfahrungen in
a very precarious position eine sehr peinlich Lage
a very satisfactory report einen recht zufriedenstellenden Bericht
a visit from our representative ein Besuch unseres Vertreters
a wide experience of umfangreiche Erfahrungen in
a working knowledge of brauchbare Kenntnisse
ability to meet financial obligations Zahlungsfähigkeit
about the details wegen der Einzelheiten
about the firm in question über die besagte Firma
about the insurance wegen der Versicherung
about the nature of the business über die Art des Geschäfts
about which you wish to be informed über die Sie informiert werden wollen
above par über dem Nennwert
absolutely unsaleable völlig unverkäuflich
abundant supply reichliches Angebot
acceptance Annahmevermerk
accepting house Akzeptbank
according to the nature of our business nach der Eigenart unseres Geschäfts
according to the size of the order nach Größe des Auftrags
according to your advice Ihren Weisungen folgend
according to your directions nach Ihren Vorschriften
according to your instructions nach Ihren Anweisungen
according to your instructions gemäß Ihren Anweisungen
according to your instructions Ihren Weisungen folgend
according to your order Ihrem Auftrag entsprechend
according to your request Ihrem Wunsche entsprechend
according to your wishes nach Ihren Wünschen
account closed Konto geschlossen
account current Kontokorrent
account for the goods returned Rückrechnung für returnierte Ware
account-current business Kontokorrentgeschäft
acting on our instructions in unserem Auftrag
acting upon the advice of auf Anraten von
acting upon the advice of auf Anraten von
active rührig
adequate funds angemessene Mittel
adequate means angemessene Mittel
advantageous for both parties vorteilhafte für beide
advantages in regard to the price Preisvorteile
after careful consideration of nach sorgfältiger Betrachtung
after consultation with nach Beratung mit
after consultation with nach Rücksprache mit
after having been accepted nach der Annahme
after lengthy discussion nach längerer Beratung
after the end of this month nach Ende dieses Monats
after the expiration of the contract nach Ablauf des Vertrags
after the expiration of this term nach Ablauf dieser Zeit
after-date bill Datowechsel
against bank acceptance gegen Bankakzept
against first class bank guarantee gegen erstklassige Bankgarantie
against three months' acceptance gegen Dreimonatsakzept
all applications received alle eingegangenen Bewerbungen
all bills drawn on us alle auf uns gezogenen Wechsel
all drafts drawn on us alle auf uns gezogenen Tratten
all further particulars alle weiteren Einzelheiten
all incoming mail die ganze Eingangspost
all inquiries received alle eingegangenen Anfragen
all leading companies alle führenden Firmen
all letters received alle eingegangenen Briefe
all modern improvements alle modernen Verbesserungen
all orders entrusted to us alle uns anvertrauten Aufträge
all orders given alle erteilten Aufträge
all orders placed with us alle uns erteilten Aufträge
all orders received alle eingegangenen Aufträge
all orders we may book alle Aufträge die wir buchen dürfen
all orders we receive alle Aufträge die wir erhalten
all our goods unsere ganze Ware
all our outstanding order alle von uns erteilen noch nicht ausgeführten Aufträge
all our prices are quoted ex works all unsere Preise sind ab Werk
all our shipments alle Verladungen
all outgoing mail die ganze Ausgangsport
all particulars of alle Einzelheiten von
all prices must be net cash alle Preise müssen netto Kasse sein
all products manufactured by us alle von uns gefertigte Ware
all rights and liabilities alle Rechte und Verbindlichkeiten
all the assistance we can give you alle Hilfe die wir Ihnen geben können
all the information you require alle Information die Sie benötigen
all your expenses all Ihre Auslagen
allow me to call your attention to bitte beachten Sie
allow us to inform you erlauben Sie uns Ihnen mitzuteilen
always at your service stets zu Diensten
always well advised immer gut beraten
always well dressed immer gut gekleidet
always well informed immer gut unterrichtet
always well stocked immer mit gutem Lagerbestand
among the samples sent unter den zugesandten Mustern
amount of the bill Wechselbetrag
amount to a considerable sum belaufen sich auf einen ansehnlichen Betrag
ample funds reichliche Mittel
ample means reichliche Mittel
an adequate knowledge of angemessene Kenntnisse
an amicable arrangement eine gütige Einigung
an article identical with yours ein Artikel identisch mit Ihrem
an article of identical type and quality identisch in Ausführung und Qualität
an article that is competitive ein Artikel der wettbewerbsfähig ist
an article that is excellent value ein Artikel der preiswert ist
an article that is good value for money ein Artikel der preiswert ist
an article that is really well made ein Artikel der wirklich gut gemacht ist
an article that is well designed ein Artikel der gut gestaltet ist
an article which is equal to yours ein Artikel gleich dem Ihren
an assortment of eine Auswahl von
an early reply will oblige für baldige Antwort sind wir dankbar
an encouragement to place larger orders eine Ermunterung zu größeren Aufträgen
an energetic representative einen rührigen Vertreter
an error has occurred ein Fehler hat sich ereignet
an examination of the goods will show Überprüfung der Ware wird zeigen
an examination of the quality will show Überprüfung der Qualität wird zeigen
an exceptional price reduction einen außerordentlichen Preisnachlass
an extra discount of 10 per cent ein Sonderrabatt von 10 Procent
an inferior grade eine minderwertigere Sorte
an interview concerning ein Gespräch betreffend
an occasional advance of einen gelegentlichen Vorschuss von
an offer with full details ein Angebot mit allen Einzelheiten
an old friend of ours einer unserer alten Freunde
an order in the amount of ein Auftrag in der Höhe von
an outstanding reputation ein ausgezeichneter Ruf
an unauthorized strike ein wilder Streik
and there only und nur dort
another order ein anderer Auftrag
any article you may desire jeden Artikel den Sie sich wünschen
any errors you may detect alle Fehler die Sie finden
any expenses incurred alle angefallenen Spesen
any inconvenience alle Ungelegenheiten
any information given alle Informationen die wir erhalten
any information you may desire alle Information die Sie wünschen
any information you may desire jegliche Auskunft die Sie benötigen
any information you may wish alle Information die Sie wünschen
any information you will give us alle Informationen die Sie uns geben
any longer weiterhin
any order you may place with us alle Aufträge die Sie uns erteilen
any order you might place with us alle Aufträge die Sie uns erteilen
any other firm irgendeine andere Firma
any quantity required jede gewünschte Menge
apart from these mistakes abgesehen von diesen Fehlern
apologizing for the trouble caused mit der Bitte die Mühe zu entschuldigen
apologizing once more nochmals um Entschuldigung bittend
apologizing once more for indem wir uns nochmals entschuldigen
application for payment Zahlungsaufforderung
arbitration of exchange Wechselarbitrage
are executed in rotation werden nacheinander ausgeführt
are famous for our innovations sind berühmt für unsere Innovationen
are famous for our novelties sind berühmt für unsere Neuheiten
are famous for our workmanship sind berühmt für unsere Wertarbeit
are famous for their quality sind berühmt für ihre Qualität
are fully justified sind voll berechtigt
are in great demand es besteht große Nachfrage
are no longer in a position to sind nicht mehr in der Lage
are no longer of any use to us sind für uns von keinem Nutzen mehr
are strictly limited to sind streng begrenzt bei
are subject a special discount of unterliegen einem Sonderrabatt von
are worth the money charged for sind wert was sie kosten
are you able to meet our requirements können Sie unseren Bedarf decken
are you prepared to wait sind Sie bereit zu warten
are you willing to wait sind Sie bereit zu warten
arrived this morning kam heute morgen an
arrived yesterday kam gestern an
arriver earlier this week kam diese Woche an
article of fashion Modeartikel
as a friendly reminder als eine freundliche Erinnerung
as a major manufacturer of als größerer Hersteller von
as a repeat of our order wie zuletzt in Auftrag gegeben
as a result of als Ergebnis von
as a trial zur Probe
as agreed upon wie vereinbart
as always wie immer
as an installment als Teilzahlung
as an installment against als Teilzahlung für
as anticipated wie erwartet
as before wie zuvor
as cashier als Kassier
as close a margin as possible die geringstmögliche Spanne
as contracted wie vertraglich vereinbart
as desired wie gewünscht
as desired in your letter wie gewünscht
as desired in your letter of wie in Ihrem Schreiben vom ... gewünscht
as expected wie erwartet
as far as our experience goes nach unserer Erfahrung
as far as the quality is concerned was die Qualität betrifft
as far as we can see soviel wir sehen
as far as we know soviel wir wissen
as his successor als seinen Nachfolger
as hitherto wie bisher
as hoped for wie erwartet
as instructed we enclose cheque for wie angewiesen fügen wir Scheck über .. bei
as long as our stock will last solange am Lager
as manufacturers of als Hersteller von
as our representative als unser Vertreter
as our stock is nearly exhausted da unsere Bestände fast geleert sind
as our stock is running low da unsere Bestände ausgehen
as our stock is running out da unsere Bestände ausgehen
as our traveller als unser Reisender
as partial payment als Teilzahlung
as per description wie beschrieben
as per our order form enclosed wie auf unserem beiliegenden Auftragsformblatt
as per particulars given below wie unten näher aufgeführt
as per sample wie bemustert
as per statement attached wie in anliegendem Kontoauszug
as per statement below wie unten näher erklärt
as per your catalogue wie in Ihrem Katalog
as per your offer wie in Ihrem Angebot
as per your quotation wie angeboten
as private and confidential personlich und vertraulich
as recommended by Mr. Smith wie von Mr. Smith vorgeschlagen
as regards price was den Preis betrifft
as regards quality was die Qualität betrifft
as reliable suppliers of als verläßliche Lieferanten von
as requested wie gewünscht
as requested in your letter wie gewünscht
as requested in your letter of wie in Ihrem Schreiben vom ... gewünscht
as rise in price will soon take place es wird bald zu einem Preisanstieg kommen
as soon as possible baldmöglichst
as soon as possible so bald wie möglich
as soon as we receive details from you sobald wir von Ihnen Einzelheiten haben
as soon as you see a chance sobald sich eine Möglichkeit zeigt
as specified wie genau aufgezeichnet
as specified on the attached form wie auf anliegendem Formblatt angegeben
as stated in your invoice wie in Ihrer Rechnung angegeben
as stipulated in the contract wie vom Vertrag gefordert. wie festgelegt
as stipulated in your order wie in Ihrem Auftrag gefordert
as strictly confidential streng vertraulich
as strictly confidential streng vertraulich
as supplied before wie gehabt
as supplied before wie zuvor geliefert
as supplied last month wie im Vormonat geliefert
as supplied last year wie letztes Jahr geliefert
as supplied to our friends wie an unsere Freunde geliefert
as the orders came in wie die Aufträge hereinkamen
as to new developments was neue Entwicklungen betrifft
as to our activities was unsere Tätigkeiten betrifft
as to our mode of doing business was unsere Handlungsweise betrifft
as to our principles was unsere Geschäftsprinzipien betrifft
as to our reliability was unsere Zuverlässigkeit betrifft
as to the desired date of delivery was den Liefertermin betrifft
as to the goods you are interested in was die Sie interessierende Ware betrifft
as to the insurance was die Versicherung betrifft
as to the mode of transportation was den Transport betrifft
as to the occasional overdraft was die gelegentliche Überziehung betrifft
as to the quantity you require was die von Ihnen benötigte Menge betrifft
as to the special market conditions was die besonderen Bedingungen betrifft
as to the state of our business was unser Geschäft betrifft
as to the state of our market was unseren Markt betrifft
as to the terms of payment was die Zahlungsbedingungen betrifft
as we are running out of stock da unsere Bestände ausgehen
as we have been successful da wir erfolgreich waren
as we have been successful selling your goods da wir gut verkauft haben
as we have learned from wie wir von ... erfahren haben
as we have not had the pleasure da wir noch nicht das Vergnügen hatten
as you are familiar with da Sie vertraut sind mit
as your April installment als Ihre Teilzahlung für April
as your final installment als Ihre abschließende Teilzahlung
as your first installment als Ihre erste Teilzahlung
as your goods have been a success da Ihre Ware ein Erfolg sind
as your last installment als Ihre letzte Teilzahlung
asked price Briefkurs
asking you to mit der Bitte um
assisted by unterstützt von
at a low price zu einem niedrigen Preis
at a lower rate of premium zu einem günstigeren Prämiensatz
at a more favourable price zu einem günstigeren Preis
at a reasonable price zu einem angemessenen Preis
at a very low price zu einem sehr niedrigen Preis
at all times jederzeit
at any time jederzeit
at competitive prices zu Konkurrenzpreisen
at cost price zum Selbstkostenpreis
at cutthroat prices zu Schleuderpreisen
at least wenigstens
at least 6 months wenigstens 6 Monate
at least a month wenigstens einen Monat
at maturity bei Verfall
at once sofort
at our disposal zu unserer Verfügung
at par zum Nennwert
at relatively high prices zu verhältnismäßig hohen Preisen
at such a special price zu solch einem Sonderpreis
at supplier's risk and expense auf Kosten und Gefahr des Lieferanten
at the above address unter der obigen Adresse
at the best possible rate bestmöglich
at the earliest possible date sobald wie möglich
at the expense of after-sales service auf Kosten der Dienstleistung
at the expense of quality auf Kosten der Qualität
at the first opportunity bei erster Gelegenheit
at the least possible cost zu geringsten Kosten
at the lowest price zum niedrigsten Preis
at the lowest price possible zum niedrigstmöglichen Preis
at the lowest rate of premium zum niedrigsten Prämiensatz
at the next opportunity bei nächster Gelgenheit
at the price of ... zum Preise von
at the prices stipulated zu den festgelegten Preisen
at the rate of zum Satze von
at the request of auf Bitten von
at the risk of Mr. Jones auf Gefahr von Mr. Jones
at the suggestion of auf Anraten von
at the suggestion of auf Anraten von
at the time stated in your offer zu der in Ihrem Angebot angegebenen Zeit
at this special price zu diesem Sonderpreis
at three months from April 1 auf drei Monate vom 1. April
at your disposal zu Ihrer Verfügung
at your earliest convenience sobald es Ihnen möglich ist
attached hereto in der Anlage
awaiting further information auf weitere Information wartend
awaiting your reply in der Erwartung Ihrer Antwort

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Elliott Kastner obituary

John Makinson says that if people want to read using new technology, that's what publishers must give them

Penguin this week celebrates its 75th year and is marking the anniversary by repackaging a series of seminal books from the 1960s to the 1980s. Although the company might afford itself a brief look backwards, it feels as though there is little room for nostalgia in book publishing now, as the industry turns its face firmly – and apprehensively – to the future.

Amazon last week announced sales of ebooks on its US site had outnumbered hardbacks for the first time, stunning casual observers, even if it had not been entirely unexpected in the trade.

The launch of the iPad has added a sense of urgency. Where music went first, books are set to follow, although Penguin and other publishers would hope without the same devastating effects. Amazon this week launched a cheaper, more lightweight version of its Kindle ebook reader and a digital store on its UK site, while others, including Google, are muscling in. Digital book sales are still less than 1% of Penguin, but the direction of the market is clear. In the US, digital books already account for 6% of consumer sales.

Penguin chief executive John Makinson says he is a convert. The day after we meet he is on his way to India, as part of David Cameron's delegation, and had loaded titles on to his iPad, including a manuscript by John le Carré and some Portuguese classics (in English) ahead of Penguin launching a range in Brazil. He is also reading Lord Mandelson's diary. It simply makes sense, he says, instead of carting an armful of books in your carry-on luggage.

Innovation

"It does redefine what we do as publishers and I feel, compared with most of my counterparts, more optimistic about what this means for us," he says. "Of course there are issues around copyright protection and there are worries around pricing and around piracy, royalty rates and so on, but there is also this huge opportunity to do more as publishers."

Publishing, he says, must embrace innovation: "I am keen on the idea that every book that we put on to an iPad has an author interview, a video interview, at the beginning. I have no idea whether this is a good idea or not. There has to be a culture of experimentation, which doesn't come naturally to book publishers. We publish a lot of historians, for example. They love the idea of using documentary footage to illustrate whatever it is they're writing about."

The very definition of a book is up for grabs he says, although the company has just published a version of Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth for the iPad in the US that might provide clues – and horrify traditionalists. It includes scenes from a TV adaptation embedded in the text, as well as extras including the show's music soundtrack and Follett's video diary during the making of the series.

For now, Makinson says, digital books are expanding the market; hardback sales in the US are up this year, despite the march of ebooks. Piracy is not yet a significant issue and lessons have been learned from the music business.

"You have to give the consumer what the consumer wants – you can't tell the consumer to go away. So we didn't participate in this experiment where a number of publishers deferred publication of the ebook until a certain number of months after the hardcover publication. I thought that was a very bad idea. If the consumer wants to buy a book in an electronic format now, you should let the consumer have it."

He has added confidence, because with tablets such as the iPad, consumers are used to paying a subscription to the wireless operator and for "apps", creating a more benign environment than the wild west of the PC, where users are used to getting everything for free.

Penguin's profits more than doubled to £44m in the first half of the year. The company gained market share, but one reason for the dramatic improvement was the outsourcing of some design and production to India last year; the company now has around 100 designers in Delhi making books for Dorling Kindersley, belying the idea that Britain can at least live off its creative industries. Makinson defends the decision and says DK is now back in profit, which means it can reinvest in Britain: "We can't pretend we can do everything here. In order to be internationally competitive, some work needs to be done in other places."

About 8% of the publisher's sales are from its classics, including Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and revenues are still growing, despite much of the copyright being in the public domain. It is launching the range in Mandarin, Korean and Portuguese. But it is not all highbrow. What would Penguin's founder, Sir Allen Lane, whose aim was to publish quality paperbacks for the masses, have made of Penguin putting out books "by" Peter Andre or Ant & Dec?

"Allen Lane's view was that we should publish good writing of all kinds for all audiences at affordable prices," Makinson says. "I'm not saying he would necessarily have approved every single publishing decision we take, but would he have approved of Penguin being a very democratic publishing company, publishing for lots of different tastes? I think he would definitely have approved."

Makinson has long been mentioned as a successor to Dame Marjorie Scardino, who runs Pearson, Penguin's parent company. Her departure has been a perennial question, though she has defied the investment community's chattering classes by staying in her post for well over a decade. She has also confounded expectations by keeping Penguin and the Financial Times in a group dominated by educational publishing. Makinson says it now makes more sense than ever for Penguin to remain part of the group, as the digital era draws each division closer.

He says there will still be the need for publishers in the digital world: "I used to have this discussion with [Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author] Douglas Adams. He created this thing called the digital village, an online publishing platform. Douglas's argument was, 'all of my friends will come along and publish on digital village and you the publishers will be disintermediated, you will be irrelevant'. Well, it hasn't happened. I am not aware of any successful direct to consumer publishing model that exists.

"The reason it doesn't work is that the publishers do actually perform quite a useful service: they edit the book, then they publicise it." In the physical world, they make sure it is stocked in bookshops, he adds.

Clubbable

Makinson, 55, perhaps feels more adaptable than some of his counterparts because he arrived at Penguin as an outsider. A clubbable character, he has taken an unusual career path, from a journalist on the Financial Times, to working for the Saatchis, setting up his own investment consultancy, running the Financial Times and then becoming Pearson finance director, despite having no training as an accountant.

But his passion for books is evident. Five years ago, he and his brother bought a bookshop in the small Norfolk town of Holt. For an out-of-the-way independent, the Holt Bookshop attracts a starry line-up of authors for events, including Stephen Fry, due to talk about his new autobiography, which, perhaps not surprisingly, is published by Penguin.

"We are all terribly sentimental about books," Makinson insists. "It is terribly important to me that we sell lots of wonderful books in my little independent in Norfolk, and when I talk about digital I do sometimes worry that it looks as though I am neglecting all this," he points to the books on the shelves behind him, "which I am not."

CV

Born: 1954, Derby.

Education: Graduated from Cambridge with honours in English and History.

Career: 1976-1979, journalist, Reuters; 1979-1986, journalist, Financial Times; 1986-1989, vice-chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi; 1989-1994, co-founder of capital markets advisory firm Makinson Cowell; 1994-1996, managing director, Financial Times; 1996-2002, finance director, Pearson; 2002-present, chairman and chief executive Penguin Books.

Other interests: chairman of the Institute for Public Policy Research, a director of the National Theatre and of the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organisation.

Family: Married with two daughters.


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The nostalgia narrative now aches to a different tune | John Freeman

Late-flowering writer of biographies and children's books

Verily Anderson, who has died aged 95, published more than 30 books – memoirs, biographies, children's stories and work ranging from personal reminiscences to Shakespeare scholarship and 10 Brownie books. She was a late starter: her breakthrough as a writer came in 1956, at the age of 41, when she published Spam Tomorrow, a deft and frequently uproarious account of her wartime experiences on the home front. Critics hailed it as a new kind of memoir, one of the first to explore the lives of women in wartime.

Before the success of Spam Tomorrow, she led a life that was colourful but frequently impecunious. Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, the fourth of five children of the Rev Rosslyn Bruce and his wife Rachel (nee Gurney), Verily was always certain that she wanted to be a writer. As children, she and her brothers edited and wrote a nursery magazine which they called the News of the World. Verily's haphazard schooling ranged from a few years at Edgbaston high school for girls to being taught at home by her mother, to a brief and unsuccessful stint at the Royal College of Music in London. She said she worked at "100 different jobs" (including writing advertising copy, illustrating sweet papers and working as a chauffeur) before the outbreak of the second world war, when she enlisted with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, on the grounds that if there were going to be a war, it would be "less frightening to be in the middle of things".

During the war she met Donald Anderson, a writer who specialised in military history. They married in 1940 and had five children. With his encouragement, she made a precarious living as a freelance writer, while papering her lavatory walls with rejection slips received from publishers for her book projects. Her persistence was at last rewarded with the success of Spam Tomorrow – and a further half-decade on the bestseller lists. These years included a film adaptation of her 1958 memoir, Beware of Children, called No Kidding and starring Leslie Phillips and Geraldine McEwan (1960).

Donald died in 1956, and by the mid-60s Verily was again struggling financially. She was rescued by the actor Joyce Grenfell. They had struck up a friendship when Verily interviewed Grenfell for the BBC. Grenfell was so shocked at the conditions she found Verily living in that she bought her a home in Northrepps, a village in Norfolk, where she stayed for the rest of her life, writing dozens more books (including the critically acclaimed The Northrepps Grandchildren in 1968) and glorying in the role of matriarch to an ever-expanding family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When Verily married Paul Paget, architect and surveyor to the fabric of St Paul's Cathedral, in 1971, Grenfell was matron of honour.

In 2008 I conducted what turned out to be Verily's last interview. Letting myself in after some fruitless bell-ringing, I followed the sounds of a piano to her study door. "Oh my dear," she said, looking up at my knock. "There you are. Now – shall we have a gin, before we start?"

I had already heard all about Verily through her daughter, my friend the writer Janie Hampton, and so had a good idea what to expect. Janie's main piece of advice on hearing that we were going to meet was: "Whatever you do, don't let her pick you up from the station – she's half-blind." She also said: "Don't eat any of the cake she offers. She's always got some, and it's always about five weeks old."

Verily did have cake and it was past its best – but Verily definitely was not. She regaled me with anecdotes. I came away with the image of a woman with a twinkle in her eye, who after eight decades of writing was still full of energy and enthusing about her latest project. This – a memoir of the time she spent at Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, in the 1930s and 40s – was completed the day before she died.

Verily is survived by her children, Marian, Rachel, Eddie, Janie and Alexandra, 16 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren – and Alfie, her beloved RNIB guide-dog.

• Verily Anderson, writer, born 12 January 1915, died 16 July 2010


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Tom Stoppard returns to BBC with Ford Madox Ford adaptation

The American literary genre of you can't go home again – that fertile ground farmed by Faulkner, Twain and Kerouac – has in the last half-century found a new voice abroad

At six foot, six inches tall, Thomas Wolfe had trouble entering most rooms. But he also had a problem with going back through them, especially if they led to the past. He had told too many truths – and too many lies – about where he came from in North Carolina.

In his posthumous 1940 novel, You Can't Go Home Again, he gave Americans a literary catchphrase for the pain so many of us who wind up far from where we grew up feel acutely.

After all, in the case of many Americans, if you leave the provinces only to return home, you are marked as a failure. At the very least, you run the risk of finding that flight has spoiled any fond memories you managed to smuggle out.

Think of the successful ad-man hero of John Updike's The Farm, who returns to his family's crumbling Pennsylvania farm for an emotionally fraught visit, or Quentin Compson of William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom, shivering in his dorm room at Harvard, who begins his defence of the American south with the ringing endorsement, "I don't hate it ... I don't hate it."

This thread of conflicted nostalgia is strongest in America's most autobiographical novelists, especially the ones who had to leave to write but continuously dial back the past in their work: writers such as Jack Kerouac, who frantically travelled America, but wrote most of his later books about Lowell, while living with his mother in Queens and Florida.

Then there's Mark Twain, whose autobiography appears in the new issue of Granta, who rose out of Missouri and saw the world, but settled in Hartford, Connecticut in a white mansion that everyone around him could see looked exactly like a river steamboat.

But like so many things America feels it has invented, from democracy to baseball, the you-can-never-go-home again narrative is hardly unique to it. In fact, in the last half-century (and especially in the last 20 years, as diaspora writers from the Dominican Republic to Nigeria to India and Pakistan have emerged as some of our most vigorous storytellers), nostalgia – which is a combination of "returning home" and "ache" – has taken on a different texture.

In Granta's new issue, there's a story by the Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela, about a young man who has come to London from Khartoum to study mathematics. His mother, who worries he will never return, arranges for him to marry a devout Muslim wife – a move which backfires when she comes to London and reminds him of everything he left behind. Chimamanda Adichie, meanwhile, has a story about a Nigerian "big man" whose life is turned upside down when his ex-girlfriend announces she has come back to Lagos. As he speculates about the reasons for her return, Adichie's hero worries whether he has sacrificed something essential in his rise to the top.

In stories like these, not to mention the novels of Monica Ali or Kiran Desai or Uzma Aslam Khan, the export duty to elsewhere is high. The past isn't just the past – it's another country. And for reasons political and personal, there is no going back.


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