Richard Bentley (publisher)

Richard Bentley
A lithograph of Richard Bentley in 1844 by Charles Baugniet
Born	(1794-10-24)24 October 1794 London
Died	10 September 1871(1871-09-10) (aged 76) Ramsgate
Nationality	British
Occupation	publisher
Spouse(s)	Charlotte Botten

Richard Bentley (24 October 1794 – 10 September 1871) was a 19th-century English publisher. Born into a family of publishers, Bentley started a firm with his brother in 1819. Ten years later, he went into partnership with the publisher Henry Colburn. Although the business was often successful, publishing the famous "Standard Novels" series, the two men did not get along and ended their partnership three years later, with much acrimony. During the 1830s and early 1840s, Bentley successfully ran his own publishing firm, establishing the profitable and well-regarded Bentley's Miscellany. However, he and its editor, Charles Dickens, quarrelled and the periodical went into decline after Dickens left. After 1843, Bentley's business started to falter, as hard economic times set in. He was forced to sell many of the copyrights he had purchased as well as Bentley's Miscellany. It was not until 15 years later that his business recovered, and he began initiating projects again. In 1867, he was injured in an accident at a railway station and he suffered ill health after that until his death four years later.

Bentley came from a publishing family that stretched back three generations. His father, Edward Bentley, and his uncle, John Nichols, published the General Evening Post and Nichols also published the Gentleman's Magazine. Richard Bentley was born in Fetter Lane, Fleet St, in London in 1794. He attended St Paul's School. Richard and his brother, Samuel (1785–1868), both trained in publishing and in 1819 established their own firm in Dorset Street. The Bentley firm, according to the Dictionary of National Biography entry on Bentley, "became arguably the finest printers in London". They were the first to prominently feature wood-engraved illustrations.

In 1823, Bentley married Charlotte Botten (1800–1871), daughter of Thomas Botten by his wife, Kezia Francis. They had 9 children, one of whom, their eldest surviving son, George Bentley (1828–1895), joined his father in the printing business.