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Thomas Nelson and Sons developed a strong corporate resolve through hardship. They seemed determined to thrive despite the circumstances.
 One major setback occurred in April 1878 when the expanded Hope Park company headquarters was completely destroyed by fire. As William reported, "Never did fire do its work more speedily or thoroughly." Not a single book or piece of machinery survived.
But while the ruins still smoldered, Thomas, Jr. was ordering new presses and other equipment. Workers discovered that a number of plates, woodcuts, and type, stored in fireproof vaults, had escaped the devastation. Temporary work areas were built on land made available by Edinburgh city authorities. And competing printers offered time on their presses.
Within two months, the company issued a catalog announcing that 150 of its most popular titles were available again. Two years later, a new building in Parkside housed the rejuvenated company. Providentially, the devastating fire had served as a catalyst for the company, enabling it to expand even further.
In 1887, William Nelson died just before leaving on a business trip to Greece. Five years later Thomas, Jr. died. It was the end of an era. Together the brothers had developed a thriving publishing company that served the needs of countless people around the world.
In the early years of the twentieth century, Thomas Nelson and Sons continued to enjoy an amazing level of success. Thomas, Jr.'s two sons, Tommy and Ian, joined the company upon completing their education.
The business was being managed primarily by George M. Brown (Thomas Nelson's son-in-law) and John Buchan, a noted novelist (of such popular works as Prester John and The Thirty-Nine Steps), biographer, and political correspondent. John Buchan, a close friend of Tommy Nelson became instrumental in expanding the company's offerings of classic works and educational resources.
Buchan wrote, "On the eve of the [first world] war we must have been one of the largest businesses of the kind in the world, issuing cheap editions of every kind of literature not only in English, but in French, German, Magyar, and Spanish."
Unfortunately, the company suffered another major setback in 1917. After eighteen months on the front line, young Tommy Nelson was killed in battle. Buchan wrote, "His death made a bigger hole in the life of Scotland than any other man of his years . . . He was a rare being because he was so superbly normal."
During World War II, the company's plant was decimated once again. At the height of the German blitz, the London offices were bombed to rubble. Several years would pass after the war before the company fully recuperated.
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