Sir Philip Sidney and the Circulation of Manuscripts, 1558-1640 [Hardcover]

This is the first modern study of the production and circulation of manuscripts during the English Renaissance. Woudhuysen examines the relationship between manuscript and print, looks at people who lived by their pens, and surveys authorial and scribal manuscripts. In particular he examines Sir Philip Sydney's works, discussing all Sidney's important manuscripts, and seeking to assess his part in the circulation of his works and his role in the promotion of a scribal culture. A detailed examination of the manuscripts and early prints of his poems sheds new light on their composition, evolution, and dissemination, as well as on Sidney's friends and admirers.

Surely no serious scholar of early modern culture should be unaware of Woudhuysen's splendid achievement--one in which the printed book is victorious, but only because manuscripts are its chief concern. --English Language Notes

Readers of H. R. Woudhuysen's regular contributions to theTLS(one of that fine paper's chief attractions) will welcome the appearance of this splendid work. So too should all students of early modern technological, intellectual, and political history....[He] writes with charm and clarity. --Sixteenth Century Journal

The survey of Sidney's manuscripts is the most thorough to date. --Renaissance Quarterly