Melrose was born in
Midlothian. Much of his early career was spent at the London
Ludgate Hill offices of the Sunday School Union, where from 1893 he published the
Sunday School Chronicle. The paper was edited by
Howard Spicer (later Sir Howard). In 1911, Melrose was living at 68 Southwood Lane,
Highgate, with his wife Margaret and their children Ernest (20), Douglas (17), Allan (14), Kenneth (11) and Marjorie (9). Melrose gained a reputation for publishing distinctive books of a theological kind. He was described as "an extremely shrewd, somewhat dour Scotsman, possessing a keen sense of literary values". He was one of the pioneers of offering substantial money prizes to aspiring authors. In 1913,
Margaret Peterson won the prize for her novel
The Lure of the Little Drum. A notable winner was
Catherine Carswell for her novel
Open the Door (1920). Melrose also had a keen sense of book design, commissioning illustrations from some of the leading illustrators of his day such as
Charles Robinson,
Florence Meyerheim,
Amelia Bauerle and
William Gordon Mein. Melrose was not afraid of courting controversy in his choice of authors. In 1915 he published
Caradoc Evans's story collection
My People, a work that provoked outrage for its depiction of Welsh society. He was also responsible for introducing
David Grayson to English readers and for publishing the letters of
Donald Hankey. The book on which Melrose chiefly prided himself was
The House with the Green Shutters by
George Douglas Brown. Melrose had met Brown through Howard Spicer, and the two encouraged Brown to write his grim story of a Scottish village. The following year, Brown died unexpectedly of pneumonia at Melrose's house in
Hornsey. Melrose published a memorial edition of Brown's
House with the Green Shutters in 1923 and subsequently unveiled a memorial to the author in his
Ayrshire birthplace. British statesman
William Ewart Gladstone and explorer
Henry Morton Stanley. In 1927 Melrose's publishing business was taken over by the
Hutchinson group and became known as Andrew Melrose Limited. It published religious and general titles and the imprint lasted until the mid-1950s. Melrose's son Douglas Melrose, who was associated with his father's business, founded the publishing firm of Melrose and Co. of
St Martin's Lane. == Melrose prize winners ==