ABSTRACT
In early 1936 a successful publisher, Victor Gollancz, teamed up with an academic, Harold Laski, and a political writer, John Strachey, to form the Left Book Club (LBC). This chapter explains the LBC was a counterpublic' under Warner's definition, in so far as its leaders were hostile to the dominant ideology of their society. The founders of the club and many of its members shared with wikipedians a determination to extend their readership and influence, and also to keep up with fast-moving contemporary events. The club's principal purpose have been to disseminate knowledge through its publications, but its main political aim was to encourage the development of a popular front at home, which might then lead to collective security abroad, implying an alliance between the democratic nations and the Soviet Union against the fascist powers. The pro-communist line taken by the club's leaders caused many in Britain, including the leaders of the main political parties, to regard it with suspicion.
