Hodder & Stoughton revs up for Christmas with James May collection

Hodder & Stoughton has sped away with James May’s Carbolics: A Personal Motoring Disinfectant, a collection of 82 essays by "The Grand Tour" host that originally appeared on the automotive writing website DriveTribe. 

Rupert Lancaster, non-fiction publisher at Hodder & Stoughton, bought world English language rights from Charlotte Robertson at the Robertson Murray Literary Agency for publication in November 2022. 

DriveTribe, which was owned by May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, was closed earlier this year. The publisher said: “The great canon of writing May had contributed to the enterprise disappeared from the internet. Now his pieces are collected in print for the first time.” 

Its synopsis continues: “The essays cover all aspects of cars, motorbikes, trucks and even the humble bicycle, which May argues is the greatest invention of all time. Written with his inimitable wit and humour, this will be a longed-for physical compendium of writing about automotives and a perfect Christmas gift for petrolheads.”

May, whose previous books include James May’s Man Lab, Car Fever and How to Land an A330 Airbus (Hodder), said: “I delude myself that the world would be a poorer place if these pieces were to disappear down the cul-de-sac of history, so I’m very pleased that they will be preserved in book and audio form forever. Or at least for a week or two.”

Lancaster said: “Whether James is writing about cars, bikes or even walking, he has the ability to conjure humour from the most unlikely material.”