Religion and the Book in Early Modern England: The Making of John Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs'

Description

John Foxe's Acts and Monuments - popularly known as the 'Book of Martyrs' - is a milestone in the history of the English book. An essential history of the English Reformation and a seminal product of it, no English printed book before it had been as long or as lavishly illustrated. Examining the research behind the work and also its financing, printing and dissemination, Elizabeth Evenden and Thomas S. Freeman argue that, apart from Foxe's zeal and industry, the book was only made possible by extensive cooperation between its printer, John Day, and the Elizabethan government. Government patronage, rather than market forces, lay behind the book's success and ensured the triumph of a Protestant interpretation of the Reformation for centuries to come. Based on little-used manuscript sources, this book offers a unique insight not only into the 'Book of Martyrs' and the history of the English book, but into English history itself.

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).

'... 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 'A voyage of discovery ... It is rare to find a book that so effectively combines cutting-edge scholarship with a vivid sense of the lived reality of the past.' Church Times 'Elizabeth Evenden and Thomas Freeman's [book] is a welcome complement to John N. King's Foxe's 'Book of Martyrs' and Early Modern Print Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2006) ... together these volumes ... stand as a comprehensive account of the history of this important book, and they should serve as the foundational monographs for any future study of Foxe, historical or literary.' Ryan Netzley, Journal of British Studies 'An important study of the making of the book in sixteenth-century England, providing illuminating details of the process.' Northern History