A development of Renske Hoff’s 2022 doctoral dissertation, this book analyses the readership history of printed Bibles in the Netherlands in the first half of the sixteenth century, principally published by two men: Jacob van Liesvelt and Heinrick Peetersen van Middelburch. Predominantly a book history project, Hoff’s work aims to answer two principal questions: how these editions interacted with and shaped their readers and, in turn, how readers shaped and interacted with their books. Building on the work of scholars of the history of reading such as Roger Chartier, Nicolas Baker and Michel de Certeau (though scholars of literacy like David Cressy sadly only get passing references and H. J. Jackson’s groundbreaking Marginalia: readers writing in books [New Haven 2001] is not mentioned at all), the so-called ‘social life of books’ is expanded and examined in detail. Printed Bibles which emanated from these two presses thus represent an interesting case study in reciprocity; that is, how particular readers in the Netherlands interacted with their Bibles.

Though the study of readers’ interaction with their books is hardly novel, Hoff does make some contribution to the burgeoning field of book history. This is most evident in her extensive analysis of markings (such as manicules and underlining) in printed Bibles. Though most of the markings Hoff covers are between a few words and a couple of sentences, her work reveals the complex and personable way in which readers could understand and contribute to their books. Though scholars have been attentive to written marginalia, fewer studies have focused as extensively on drawn symbols such as crosses, florilegia, small horizontal lines or circles added in the margins of the page. Hoff’s research has revealed instances of readers changing certain theologically charged words to conform to translations of their own denomination preference, erasing disagreeable translations, and providing marginalia explaining verses with some religious bias.

Using a thorough mixture of English, Dutch and Latin sources, Hoff provides several key insights which scholars from a range of fields (including book history, literature and theology) may find useful. She carefully develops an analysis of the confessionalism of some of Liesvelt and van Middelburch’s Bibles. These were not theologically neutral texts meant to display the Word for readers. Instead, some of their Bibles included translations that could be specific to certain denominational preferences. Hoff amply demonstrates this in her examination of Liesvelt’s 1542 editions (p. 106). Also striking about some of these Dutch editions are the non-textual aspects of them. Akin to some contemporary study Bibles (a comparison which Hoff regrettably neglects), some of these editions provided woodcuts and images depicting the prophets (pp. 116, 118), liturgical furniture like the Tabernacle or Ark of the Covenant (p. 119), and a host of maps which would better situate the geographical and political context of key biblical events such as the Exodus (p. 121). These served as exegetical tools that could provide readers with ‘devices to personally experience and visualise certain places and events’ (p. 212). This also conformed neatly with concurrent interest in sacred topography and biblical antiquarianism (p. 213). A difficulty with almost any study of marginalia is ownership retracement. Yet, Hoff’s analysis (specifically her useful appendix of owners and users) provides readers with an exhaustive list of owners and readers which fewer studies have done to as great a length.

There are times when extended explanation of events would have proved advantageous to her argument. For example, when discussing Liesvelt’s imitation of Luther’s specific enumeration of canonical books (pp. 15–16), Hoff does not mention that the canonicity of Apocryphal books and contentious New Testament ones had been debated among theologians since the time of the Early Church. This is important because Hoff seems to present this as a uniquely Lutheran phenomenon whereas in fact it was not. In her discussion of confessional markers (pp. 185–94), though she correctly identifies theological contention over terms such as ‘repent’ versus ‘do penance’ (Matthew iv.17) and the degree to which the confession of the printer could influence the terminology adopted, Hoff surprisingly forgets to mention the import of Erasmus. In his Novum Instrumentum of 1516, he challenged the Vulgate’s translation of Μετανοεῖτε as ‘Poenitentiam agite’ (instead opting for the term ‘repent’). This is not a mere technical point, for Erasmus’s translation formed the basis of Textus receptus translations, even influencing English translations by William Tyndale (1526) and the King James Version (1611). Hoff also makes certain assumptions without sufficient evidence. When discussing the continuous use of editions by readers, Hoff confusingly suggests that this ‘ensured the Bibles’ endurance through time and space’ (p. 227). Surely, the more a book was used the less likely it was to survive over time.

An entire section is devoted to paratextual elements (including marginal notes made by printers) yet little information is provided as to who exactly made these contributions. Was it a specific individual or was it a team of scholars? This information would have been insightful. Moreover, scarce room has been given towards accounts made by Dutch contemporaries of how they understood their Bibles. Though marginalia can provide some key insights, one is mostly left with mere guesswork as to the impact Scripture made on people’s lives.

Notwithstanding these somewhat minor limitations, Involving readers can lay a foundation for scholars working in other regions or fields as a model for studying reading habits. Hoff’s work is clearly relatable beyond the immediate remit of book history, extending across to church history, theology and literature. In an academic environment which appreciates interdisciplinary scholarship, Professor Hoff’s work clearly meets the mark in providing a wide stratum of scholars with a book that relates to several interrelated fields without losing hold of its primary objectives; that is, understanding the relationship between readers and their books.