A History of British Publishing [Paperback]

Thoroughly revised, restructured and updated, A History of British Publishingcovers six centuries of publishing in Britain from before the invention of the printing press, to the electronic era of today.

John Feather places Britain and her industries in an international marketplace and examines just how British, British publishing really is. Considering not only the publishing industry itself, but also the areas affecting, and affected by it, Feather traces the history of publishing books in Britain and examines:

• education
• politics
• technology
• law
• religion
• custom
• class
• finance, production and distribution
• the onslaught of global corporations.

Specifically designed for publishing and book history courses, this is the only book to give an overall history of British publishing, and will be an invaluable resource for all students of this fascinating subject.

Part 1: The Early Modern Book Trade 1. Literacy, Print and Culture in Early Modern England  2. The Development of the Book Trade  3. The Book Trade and the State  4. The Market for Books  Part2: Publishing in the Industrial Age  5. The First Publishers  6. The Book Trade and the Industrial Revolution  7. Publishing in a Free Trade Economy  8. The Diffusion of Knowledge  9. The Age of the Novel  10. Authors and Publishers  Part 3: The Publishing Industry in the Twentieth Century  1. The First of the Mass Media  12. The Publishing Industry  13. Paperback Publishing  14. Publishing for the Empire  15. The Trade in War and Peace  16. New Competitors  17l£–