In 1970, his first marriage ended in divorce. In 1971, Victor co-founded the countercultural newspaper Ink[5] with Oz founders Felix Dennis and Richard Neville.[4] By 1972, conflict about what Ink should be led to its failure, and Victor returned to the United States to work for Knopf.[3]
Literary agent
Victor married his second wife, American lawyer Carol Ryan,[2] and, after a year travelling, made their main home in London to be close to Victor's children.[6] Victor was one of the first former journalist/editors to make the move to be a publishing agent, when in the 1970s literary agents were not welcomed by British publishers. However, many changed their minds when Victor's first sale in 1976[7] was for the book and film rights to Stephen Shephard's novel The Four Hundred for $1.5 million. In 2005, Victor's client John Banville won the Booker Prize. The following day Victor sold Eric Clapton's memoirs for $4 million.[3]
Rather than take "blind" scripts sent to him, Victor instead began to gain clients through personal reference. He is recalled as being "the first agent to increase his commission from 10% to 15%. Few of his clients complained and over the years other agents quietly followed him....He negotiated deals for his authors that few could match."[8] In 2003, Victor and his wife were named second on Tatler's list of the most invited guests in London, behind Elton John.[3]
He celebrated the 40th anniversary of his literary agency, Ed Victor Ltd, in November 2016.[11]
Personal life
With his second wife, Carol Ryan, Victor lived mainly in London, with a secondary home in the Hamptons on Long Island, in the United States. The couple had a son, Ryan, while Victor had sons, Adam and Ivan, from his first marriage to Michelene Wandor.[1] In 2002, Victor suffered an attack of viral pneumonia, but fully recovered.[3]
The same year, Victor published his first book, The Obvious Diet – Your Personal Way to Lose Weight Fast Without Changing Your Lifestyle, through Ebury Press and Arcade Publishing.[12][13]