The first Penguin paperbacks appeared in the summer of 1935 and were a mix of biography, crime writing and novels. Genres were indicated by the colour of the band on the cover, biography being dark blue, crime green and fiction orange. All the titles were by contemporary writers including Ernest Hemingway, Eric Linklater and Agatha Christie. They cost just sixpence, the same price as a packet of cigarettes.

Penguin was the brainchild of Allen Lane who was then a director of The Bodley Head. After a weekend spent with Agatha Christie in Devon, Lane searched Exeter station's bookstall for something to read on his journey back to London, but found only popular magazines and reprints of Victorian novels. Following this, he recognised the need for good quality contemporary fiction at an attractive price. Lane was determined that the new range be available not just in traditional bookshops, but also in railway stations and chain stores such as Woolworths.

Penguin emerged as a separate company from Bodley Head in January 1936 and had an initial share capital of #100. It began distributing its books from the Crypt of the Holy Trinity Church on Marylebone Road where the vaults of long-departed Victorians were piled high with books. Ingeniously, a fairground slide was installed to receive deliveries from the street above.

Within twelve months, Penguin had sold a staggering 3 million paperbacks, but was generally viewed with suspicion and uncertainty by traditional publishers. Hardback fiction sold at seven or eight shillings, and it was feared that the new cheap paperbacks might undermine this market. Some authors were also unsettled by what the advent of Penguin might bring.

It did, however, have its supporters amongst the press and with some celebrated writers.

In 1937 Penguin moved to new offices and a Warehouse at Harmondsworth, a 3 acre site which now adjoins Heathrow Airport.

As sales continued to flourish Lane, along with his brothers Dick and John, began to expand Penguin's publishing and retail activities. 1937 also saw the launch of the Pelican imprint and the emergence of the curiously titled Penguincubator, a new paperback dispenser which made its first appearance on Charing Cross Road.

Pelican was introduced to cover serious contemporary issues and represented the first new and original books to be published by Penguin; all titles so far had been paperbacks of books previously published by other companies.

The series was weighted towards History, Sociology, Economics and Politics and continued the 'good books cheap' philosophy of Penguin.

As conflict in Europe drew closer, Penguin Specials such as Searchlight on Spain and What Hitler Wants achieved record-breaking sales. One of the best selling titles of war years was Aircraft Recognition, which was used by both civilians and the fighting forces to recognise enemy planes.

Despite paper shortages and air raids, Penguin rose to the challenge of providing wartime reading material to troops on active service abroad and to those recovering at home. In those wartime days King Penguins, which came with coloured illustrations, made welcome reading. The Penguin Poets and Penguin Modern Painters series came to symbolise freedom of thought and expression while a brighter note was provided for children by the first Puffin Picture Books and Puffin Story Books.

By the end of the war, Penguin was distributing a million books a month in the American market and also had a subsidiary in Australia.

In 1946 Penguin Classics was launched, its first title being E.V. Rieu's translation of Homer's The Odyssey. Dr Rieu began translating foreign titles for his wife's enjoyment and, at her suggestion, committed his version of The Odyssey to paper. After the war Rieu presented his manuscript to Penguin where, after some debate, it was accepted. Rieu was then appointed to commission translations of other classics for the new series. The Classics range has since gone on to become a major force in education.

When, in 1951, Allen Lane lent a young Nikolaus Pevsner a 1933 Wolseley Hornet and a permit for 30 gallons of petrol, the Pevsner Architectural Guides were born. Pevsner, an architectural historian, aimed to provide an up-to-date portable guide to the most significant buildings in every part of the country, suitable for both general and specialist readers. He undertook to research and write the 46 volume series during his university holidays.

The 1960's brought a revolution in popular culture, and Penguin found itself firmly at the centre of debate on 'the permissive society'. The publication of the first unabridged version of Lady Chatterley's Lover saw Penguin charged under the Obscene Publications Act. Against a backdrop of immense publicity the company was acquitted, marking a turning point in censorship laws in Britain. Penguin sold 2 million copies of the book in the six-week run up to Christmas of 1960, and a further 1.3 million during 1961.

The 60s also saw Penguin expand its range to encompass more practical issues, publishing a series of handbooks with such titles as The Case for Family Allowances, Ley Farming and Venereal Disease in Britain.

In 1970 Penguin was acquired by Pearson, the international media group, and underwent major structural change. Under the leadership of Peter Mayer, appointed Penguin Chief Executive in 1978, a new flexible style in editorial, marketing and production was introduced and the company continued as a major and vital publishing force.

The 1980s saw more change for Penguin. In 1983 it acquired Frederick Warne, best know for its Beatrix Potter titles. The company also bought the Michael Joseph and Hamish Hamilton book-publishing divisions from Thomson International in 1985. Expanding and restructuring, the company moved to its current premises at Wrights Lane, Kensington while still retaining the site at Harmondsworth.

Anger at Rushdie's book, said by some Muslim fundamentalists to be blasphemous, provoked the Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini to call for his execution. The following threat was broadcast by Khomeini on Tehran radio:-

Throughout the episode Rushdie stood by his book and, with Penguin's support, refused to be silenced.

Penguin Audiobooks were launched in 1993, with an initial range of 12 titles. These titles paved the way for the future audio publishing, bringing a mix of classic and contempory titles to a listening audience. A joint venture was agreed with Faber in 1995, seeing the launch of Faber.Penguin Audiobooks, and Puffin Audiobooks following in 1997.

In 1996 Penguin took a 51% stake in Rough Guides, the highly acclaimed publishers of travel and music writing. Penguin now sells and distributes Rough Guides worldwide. Other big news was the appointment of Anthony Forbes Watson as UK Managing Director.

Penguin retained its position as a defender of free speech when it successfully defended against a libel suit from controversial revisionist historian David Irving in April 2000. Irving issued proceedings over the publication of Professor Deborah Lipstadt's Denying the Holocaust. 'Familiar with historical evidence, he bends it until it conforms with his ideological leanings and political agenda' she wrote.

On May 10th 2000 Pearson acquired Dorling Kindersley; DK became part of the Penguin group with Anthony Forbes Watson Chief Executive of both Penguin UK and DK.