Printing, Writers and Readers in Renaissance Italy

The spread of printing to Renaissance Italy had a dramatic impact on all users of books. As works came to be diffused more widely and cheaply, so authors had to adapt their writing and their methods of publishing to the demands and opportunities of the new medium, and reading became a more frequent and user-friendly activity. Printing, Writers and Readers in Renaissance Italy focuses on this interaction between the book industry and written culture. After describing the new technology and the contexts of publishing and bookselling, it examines the continuities and changes faced by writers in the shift from manuscript to print, the extent to which they benefited from print in their careers, and the greater accessibility of books to a broader spectrum of readers, including women and the less well educated. This is the first integrated study of a topic of central importance in Italian and European culture.

• First full-length study, in any language, of a topic of crucial importance to the development of culture in Italy and Europe • Written accessibly and attractively, considering wide range of examples, from the literary to the popular • Looks at print culture from the viewpoint of producers and consumers, as well as setting it in a wider cultural context, and therefore very relevant to current work in cultural studies

Part I. Printing and Book Production: 1. The arrival of printing and its techniques; 2. Publishing, bookselling and the control of books; Part II. Writers and Print Culture: 3. Publication in print: patronage, contracts and privileges; 4. From pen to print: writers and their use of the press; Part III. Readers and Print Culture: 5. Reading, buying and owning printed books; 6. Printing for the reading public: form and content; Bibliography.

‘This fascinating accessus should be owned and read by anyone interested in the Renaissance book.’ Times Literary Supplement