Religion and the Book in Early Modern England

Elizabeth Evenden is a lecturer in the Department of English at Brunel University. Her recent publications include Patents, Pictures and Patronage: John Day and the Tudor Book Trade (2008). Thomas S. Freeman is affiliated to the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge and is a Visiting Fellow at Magdalene College. His recent publications include Martyrs and Martyrdom in England, c.1400–1700 (with Thomas F. Mayer, 2007).

• Introduction; 1. The text in its context: the printer's world in early modern Europe; 2. Ancient fragments and 'noythy bookes': the early careers of John Foxe and John Day; 3. Adversity and opportunity: Foxe and Day during Mary's reign; 4. The making of the first edition of the Acts and Monuments; 5. Sources and resources: preparing the 1570 edition; 6. 'Fayre pictures and painted pageants': the illustrations of the 'Book of Martyrs'; 7. A Parting of the Ways? Foxe and Day, 1570–6; 8. Fathers, sons and other adversaries: the background to and making of the 1583 edition; Conclusion. Foxe after Foxe: the making of the Acts and Monuments in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

'… well written and readable … and there are welcome touches of humour … A great deal of impressive work has been produced by the network of scholars involved [in the study of Foxe's 'Acts and Monuments'], and this book touches only briefly on the conclusions they have already reached in order to focus on new material about Foxe and his book. It is best understood, therefore, in the context of the wider research effort, but it is a great achievement in its own right. By anchoring Foxe's work in its material culture, it has told us a great deal about the life of the book in general, as well as the life of this book in particular … [Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs'] helped to define early modern England, and this book brings us a lot closer to understanding how that was possible.' Lucy Wooding, The Times Higher Education Supplement