Reading Matters by Margaret Willes
It is easy to forget in our own day of cheap paperbacks and mega-bookstores that until very recently books were luxury items. Those who could not afford to buy had to borrow, share, obtain secondhand, inherit, or listen to others reading. This book examines how people acquired and read books from the sixteenth century to the present, focusing on the personal relationships between readers and the volumes they owned. Margaret Willes considers a selection of private and public libraries across the period - most of which have survived - showing the diversity of book owners and borrowers, from country-house aristocrats to modest farmers, from Regency ladies of leisure to working men and women.Exploring the collections of avid readers such as Samuel Pepys, Thomas Jefferson, Sir John Soane, Thomas Bewick, and Denis and Edna Healey, Margaret Willes also investigates the means by which books were sold, lending fascinating insights into the ways booksellers and publishers marketed their wares. For those who are interested in books and reading, and especially those who treasure books, this one will inform, entertain, and inspire.
Margaret Willes was Publisher for the National Trust, where she began its own imprint, in addition to writing and producing illustrated books. She lives in London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780300127294 |
| ISBN 10 | 0300127294 |
| Title | Reading Matters |
| Author | Margaret Willes |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year published | 2008-11-01 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |