Castle Hill Press

The Castle Hill Press edition of T. E. Lawrence's works and letters

Jeremy and Nicole Wilson

T. E. Lawrence was both a writer and avid reader. He believed that books of all kinds should be designed and produced to high standards. His library contained an enviable collection of fine-press books. He was closely involved with two of the best known press-books of the 20th century.

The Castle Hill Press edition of Lawrence's works and letters is the definitive edition of his writings. It combines scholarly editing with beautifully produced books. Much of the content is published here for the first time. As a result, these volumes have become an essential cornerstone for future research and for any significant T.E. Lawrence collection. Jeremy Wilson, the series editor, also wrote Lawrence's authorised biography.

Castle Hill Press books are printed for private and institutional subscribers. They are not widely available from booksellers. The advance subscriptions make the editions possible. Subscribers order before details of an edition are publicly announced and enjoy lower prices and other advantages. On several occasions, for example, the content has been increased, or the specification enhanced, after the subscription has closed. Any additional costs are reflected in the post-publication price, but the subscription price remains unchanged.

After the subscription offer has closed, details of the edition are announced on our website. You can order forthcoming books or copies of previous publications, when available, from the Castle Hill Press online shop. 

You will find information about the content and production of each of our books on this website. Current projects are tracked on our News page. Subscribers can also sign up for our email Newsletter, which goes out every 6-8 weeks.

Castle Hill Press sponsors, and Jeremy Wilson edits, the leading educational website about T.E. Lawrence: www.telawrence.info.

The T. E. Lawrence fine-press tradition

One of T. E. Lawrence's enduring ambitions was to set up and run a private press. This never came about, but he organised the production of his subscribers' Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926) and translated Homer's Odyssey for an edition designed by Bruce Rogers (1932). These are among the best known press books of the twentieth century. Many small presses and collectors share Lawrence's fascination with book production. Since his death there have been numerous fine-press editions of his writing (for a list, see the link at the foot of this page).

Castle Hill Press typesetting is hand-adjusted on computer screens to fine-press standards. Our books are printed litho and offered in bindings that range from hard-wearing cloth to full-goatskin 'specials' with additional content.

The quality of our publishing and the work we commission is widely recognised. In 2000-2001 the master binding commissioned from Glenn Bartley for the twenty 'extra-special' sets of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, The Complete 1922 Text (1997) was one of fifty selected bindings in the Designer Binders exhibition that toured North America. The index commissioned from Hazel  Bell for the one-volume Library Edition of Seven Pillars (2003) won the Wheatley Medal, Britain's premier indexing award.

Previous publications

When a new title is issued, we bind enough copies to meet advance orders, plus a small margin. We store any balance of unsold copies as unbound sheets. Thereafter, we have copies bound in small batches to meet orders received.

Because our books are hand-bound at a small craft bindery, we sometimes sell out of bound copies and then have to wait a while before the next batch of copies arrives.

Please accept our apologies if the book you wish to buy is out of stock. If you place an order, we will reserve a copy of the next binding-batch for you, and you will be protected from any price-rise that occurs in the interim. If you need a text urgently and a second-hand copy would be acceptable, we may also be able to help.