 His first job was for the National Book League, a charity advocating the benefits of reading, working under Jack Morpurgo, the step-father of the children's writer Michael Morpurgo.He became the editorial director of the Leicester-based publisher, Brockhampton Press, in 1960.In this role, he acquired the rights to the Asterix comic books, launching English editions of them which began in 1968, co-translated by his then wife, Anthea Bell, and Derek Hockridge.