This anthology of essays examines the relationship between the physical manufacture of books and their reception by readers during the Tudor period (1485–1603). Written by specialists in a variety of disciplines, these essays challenge the “binary divisions” made by historians who identify certain seminal events resulting from the English Reformation (1). At the same time the authors trace the developments during the time between the founding of the first printing press in England by William Caxton in 1476 to the marketing of Sir Edmund Spencer's works in folio editions during the early seventeenth century. Within the context of this narrative, the contributors describe both the continuity and change in book production and reading from the late medieval to the early modern periods.

Some of the essays revise long held notions regarding the marketing of printed books. A notable contribution on the subject in this collection is the work by Joseph Dane and Alexandria Gillespie, which challenges the idea of the “cheap quarto” (25–45). Here the authors plausibly argue on the basis of their bibliographical analysis that the quarto format was not necessarily less expensive than other book formats. Dane and Gillespie's essay is complemented by Stephen K. Galbraith's, which maintains that folio texts were often less expensive than quartos. Other essays address the relationship between reading and political patronage as well as the role of reading in bolstering religious opinion.

Tudor Books and Readers is a welcome addition to the increasing literature on this significant aspect of sixteenth-century studies.