This collection profiles understudied figures in the book and print trades of the seventeenth century. With an equal balance between women and men, it intervenes in the history of the trades, emphasising the broad range of material, cultural, and ideological work these people undertook.
Focusing on the transformative impact of printing on early modern English literary culture, the book explores various influential works and figures. It delves into printers' manuals and the paratexts of William Caxton, alongside the dramatic dialogues of Robert Copland. Additionally, it examines the prose fictions of William Baldwin, George Gascoigne, and Thomas Nashe, as well as the courtly poetry of Edmund Spenser, highlighting how these elements shaped literary practices and audience engagement during this pivotal period.