Edmund L. Epstein (1931–2012)

Edmund Lloyd Epstein was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrant parents — his father was a pharmacist from Poland and his mother was a modern dancer Russia. He graduated from Queens College and earned advanced degrees in English from Yale and Columbia Universities. He taught briefing before becoming a book editor. In 1957, he was an editor of Capricorn Books when he read a hardcover edition of "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, then an unknown writer. He decided to publish it in paperback. According to The New York Times, by the time Mr. Golding visited the USA in 1961, "Lord of the Flies" had become hugely popular on college campuses throughout the country, and he was flooded with requests for speaking engagements. Today, more than 10 million copies of "Lord of the Flies" are in print in a mass market paperback format and it's a staple of high school and college courses. Prof. Epstein went on to teach at Queens College of the City University of New York for many years. He became a distinguished James Joyce scholar and the author of influential books on Joyce's works. Prof. Epstein also was a founder of the short-lived journal, The James Joyce Review, an important predecessor The James Joyce Quarterly.