Lord Evans of Temple Guiting obituary

Publisher who turned Faber & Faber into a champion of the best contemporary writing

Matthew Evans, who has died aged 74 from leukaemia, was a great publisher who also happened to play a decisive role in the making of the musical Cats. He transformed Faber & Faber from the Vatican of Anglo-American literature – an ageing, sober and conservative list – into a daring and high-spirited young company dedicated to the best of contemporary writing in a rare trifecta – poetry, plays and fiction – from across the English-speaking world.

Sometimes, to the Faber board, Matthew might have seemed like a boy racer taking the family Rolls for a spin on the circuit, but he was also a loyal chauffeur, dedicated to vintage motoring, with a deep reverence for the mysteries of literature. An eternally mischievous and provocative figure within the book trade, Matthew was part of a remarkable generation that included Deborah Rogers, Sonny Mehta, Ursula Owen, Tom Maschler, Liz Calder, Ed Victor, Michael Sissons and Carmen Callil.