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Selling Forbidden Books: Profit and Ideology in Thomas Godfray’s Evangelical Printing

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

da Costa, A 

Abstract

Reformation scholars have tended to take for granted English demand for evangelical books without considering how writers and printers persuaded readers steeped in traditional religion to engage with verboten and challenging material. This article explores the commercial difficulties they faced in selling forbidden books and some of the tactics they adopted to nurture illicit demand. Thomas Godfray is presented as an example of a printer who combined ideological commitment to evangelical belief with an astute ability to negotiate censorship and manipulate the market.

Description

Keywords

English literature, 1500-1599, prose, Protestant writers, printing, Godfray, Thomas(fl. 1532)

Journal Title

Journal of the Early Book Society

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1525-6790

Volume Title

19

Publisher

Pace University Press

Publisher DOI