Housmans has been donated the library of Robin Murray, who died in 2017. Robin was primarily an economist who worked across a wide range of disciplines – from fair trade, the environment and local economic development – for governments, social enterprises and academia.
The vast majority of the books are on Marxian politics, economics, co-operatives, sustainability, ecology, and social justice. As with all Housmans library sales, all books will be priced at £1, £3 and £5. The sale will start at 11am on Saturday 14th February 2026, and will last approximately a couple of weeks.
A few highlights of Robin’s long and varied career include:
•Being part of the group that helped bring the May Day Manifesto into being, and then contributed with Michael Barrett Brown to the economics section of the 1968 Penguin edition, which was edited by Raymond Williams.
•Co-founding of journal Capital and Class, and setting up and leading the Marxist Capital Reading Group
•Between 1982 and 1986, Robin worked as the director of industry and employment at the Greater London Council and was tasked with developing the London Labour Plan and the London Industrial Strategy
•Alongside colleagues created the Third World Information Network (Twin) and Twin Trading, an innovative and groundbreaking organisation which combined trade with social and economic development in partnership with coffee co-operatives in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua and East Africa, projects which were at the forefront of the Fair Trade movemet
•Became a leading advocate and advisor for local and regional government on the subjects of environmental sustainability, recycling and the circular economy
You can find several tributes from Hilary Wainwright and Sheila Rowbotham amongst many others here: https://robinmurray.co.uk/tributes and an overview of his life here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Murray_(economist)
