The first cultural history of early modern cryptography, this book joins scholars who study ciphering and deciphering from new materialist, media studies, cognitive studies, disability studies, and other perspectives...
This account, originally published in 1972, examines the life and work of John Taylor, the founder of the publishing house of Taylor & Hessey which brought out the work of Keats, Clare, Hazlitt, De Quincey, Carlyle, Lamb, Coleridge and many more. A fascinating piece of literary, social and publishin..
In 1957, Richard Altick's groundbreaking work The English Common Reader transformed the study of book history. Inspired by Altick's research, but digging deep into the neglected records of prison libraries, army barracks or convict ships the authors of A Return to the Common Reader dramatically re..
First published in 1969, this book asserts that two concepts, structure and praxis, make it impractical for scholars to ignore the necessity of a theory of the novel — with the term ‘classical novel’ used to cover western fiction. The author argues that the novel is fundamentally an ‘enterprise’ — a..
In this book, Joseph Dane critiques the use of material evidence in studies of manuscript and printed books by delving into accepted notions about the study of print culture. He questions the institutional and ideological presuppositions that govern medieval studies, descriptive bibliography, and l..
In this book, Joseph Dane critiques the use of material evidence in studies of manuscript and printed books by delving into accepted notions about the study of print culture. He questions the institutional and ideological presuppositions that govern medieval studies, descriptive bibliography, and l..
First published in 1968, this book sets out to refute the idea of Trollope as a ‘mild cathedral-town novelist, describing storms in ecclesiastical tea cups’ which prevailed at the time in spite of his stature during his lifetime. The author reveals the full strength and range of Trollope’s achieveme..
Thomas Anthony Birrell (1924-2011) was a man of many parts but first and foremost he was a bibliographer and a book historian. The present collection contains fifteen of his book-historical articles, two reviews and one published version of a lecture for the illustrious ’Association Internationale d..
First published in 1990, this book was the first comprehensive study of Balzac’s relationship to music, blending past scholarship with new perspectives to formulate an inclusive account. It begins by examining the contacts and experiences that shaped the musical side of Balzac’s life. These left val..
First published in 1983. Balzac’s novels are one of the largest and most important sources for the history of post-revolutionary France, but they have scarcely been tapped as they should be. Approaching the subject from the perspective of a literary, the author shows in detail how specific historica..
Originally published in 1934, Palmer’s biography of famous playwright Ben Jonson delves into his life and works and what he achieved in both. As first poet laureate of England, Jonson’s life presents a fascinating look into the state of literature and theatre in renaissance Britain which Palmer pres..