The Edinburgh History of the British and Irish Press, Volume 1: Beginnings and Consolidation 1640 1800

(Paperback)

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Description

Consisting of twenty-eight chapters and numerous case studies the volume examines the history of the British and Irish press from its seventeenth-century beginnings up until the end of the eighteenth century. Five core chapters regard the Business of the Press (including advertising), Production and Distribution, Legal Constraints and Opportunities, Readers and Readerships, and the Emerging Identities and Communities of news writers and journalists. Other contributions focus on particular national realities such as those in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The contributions examine features relating to the production, transmission and reception of not just news publications but also the more specialised press such as periodical essays, women's periodicals, literary and review journalism, medical journals, and the criminal and religious press. As much early modern news was a transnational phenomenon the volume includes studies on European and trans-Atlantic networks as well as the role of translation in news transmission and output.

Reviews

This is an indispensable collection, which skilfully maps the territory of news in early modern Britain, explores the central issues involved, and surveys a burgeoning historiography. At the same time, it also presents a wealth of striking evidence drawn from cutting-edge research, and highlights numerous avenues for further investigation. Essential reading.--Jason Peacey, UCL

Author Bio

Nicholas Brownlees is Professor of English Language at the University of Florence, Italy. He has written extensively on news discourse in the early modern era and has published in numerous international journals and with publishing houses such as Ashgate, Benjamins, Brepols, Brill, Cambridge Scholars, Peter Lang, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press (forthcoming). He edited The Role of Context in the Production and Reception of Historical News Discourse (Peter Lang, 2021). He is the founder and board member of the series of international conferences on Historical News Discourse (CHINED).