Over 150 years ago in 1873, Sir George Grove accepted an offer from Macmillan and Co. to join their staff and become a director. Macmillan is traditionally considered to be one of the “Big Five” English language publishers. Back in the day, it published two of the best-known works of Victorian-era children’s literature: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (1894). 

The most important outcome of Grove’s connection with Macmillan was A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, for which his name is best remembered. The idea of the dictionary was entirely his own. The book is still in print today as a standard reference.

Grove also edited Macmillan’s Magazine for 15 years. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works primarily by British authors. He also became a general literary adviser to the publisher; and wrote a primer on geography for Macmillan’s “History Primers”. Grove was also the first director of the Royal College of Music, from its foundation in 1883 until his retirement in 1894, and spent nearly twenty years at the Crystal Palace as its secretary, creating and promoting musical events.  

Today, this noble family tradition is being carried forward by his great-grandson.