“He was a legend,” says writer-historian William Dalrymple, who had many books published under the editorship of Mehta. He moved to Pan Books in 1972 and added to its list bestselling authors such as Jackie Collins and Douglas Adams. He was handpicked by Robert Gottlieb, who was leaving the publishing house to edit The New Yorker. Mehta was also among the first to recognise the importance of graphic novels, publishing prize-winning titles such as Maus and Persepolis. A man of few words, in some ways, says Dalrymple, Mehta was “a very scary character”.

Source: Indian Express December 31, 2019 22:41 UTC