Charles Ollier

Charles Ollier (1788–1859) was a British publisher and author with roots in a Huguenot family. He began his career in banking before entering the publishing business in partnership with his brother James around 1816. Ollier became acquainted with Leigh Hunt, publishing several of his works. This connection led him to John Keats, whose first collection of poems Ollier published in 1817. While this venture was not commercially successful and led to a falling out with Keats, Ollier continued to publish many of Percy Bysshe Shelley's works throughout his lifetime, despite occasional disagreements over editorial changes. Beyond poetry, Ollier also published collected works of Charles Lamb and early volumes by Barry Cornwall. He was involved in publishing significant literary pieces like Shelley's "Marianne's Dream" and Thomas Love Peacock's "The Four Ages of Poetry," which indirectly spurred Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry." Following the closure of his publishing business, Ollier served as a literary advisor to Richard Bentley. His son, Edmund Ollier, also became a journalist.

Charles Ollier's publishing career is most notably marked by his involvement with the works of Romantic poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. He published Keats's inaugural collection of poems in 1817. However, this initial collaboration proved unsuccessful, and Keats subsequently moved to other publishers. Ollier maintained a more consistent relationship with Shelley, bringing out most of his works published during his lifetime. This included significant titles, though not without editorial friction, such as the alteration of "Laon and Cythna" into "The Revolt of Islam." Ollier also published Shelley's poem "Marianne's Dream" in "The Literary Pocket Book" in 1819 and was entrusted with Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry," which was intended for "Ollier's Literary Miscellany" but ultimately published elsewhere due to the periodical's demise.

Beyond his work with Keats and Shelley, Charles Ollier published other notable literary figures. He issued the collected works of Charles Lamb and several early volumes by Barry Cornwall. In 1820, "Ollier's Literary Miscellany" featured contributions such as Julius Hare's article on German drama and Thomas Love Peacock's "The Four Ages of Poetry." Ollier also authored his own works, including "Altham and his Wife: A Domestic Tale" (1818), "Inesilla; or the Tempter: a Romance, with other Tales" (1824), and "Ferrers" (1842), a romance about an execution. His "Fallacy of Ghosts, Dreams, and Omens, with Stories of Witchcraft, Life-in-Death, and Monomania" was published in 1848. Evidence suggests Ollier also contributed to "Ainsworth's Magazine" and the "Naval and Military Gazette."