Censorship and Interpretation: The Conditions of Writing and Reading in Early Modern England

Rating:
Summary: The drive toward encryption.
Review: This is a critical treatment of the relationship between author and authority in the society of early modern England. Patterson explores the delicate balance between the state's need to control writers and their need to communicate with a contemporary audience on subjects that may not meet with state approval. Her thesis is that the need for indirection, encoding and encryption are fundamental to the literary impulse. A very fine book - essential reading to all students of literature.