Self Help was published in 1859 by Samuel Smiles. It has been called 'the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism'. Self Help sold 20,000 copies within one year of its publication. By the time of Smiles' death in 1904 it had sold over a quarter of a million. Self-Help 'elevated Smiles to celebrity status: almost overnight, he became a leading pundit and much-consulted guru.