Includes bibliographical references (p. [169]-199) and index
1 - 'Reader, here you'l plainly see judgement perverted' -- - 2 - The trials of Strafford and Laud in England's 'sad theater' -- - 3 - The 'stage-work' of Charles I -- - 4 - 'Yet we may print the errors of the age' : tyranny on trial -- - 5 - Trials of authorship and dramas of dissent -- - Epilogue -- 'beyond the fifth act' : Milton and Dryden on the restoration stage
"In conjunction with an evolving print culture, seventeenth-century England experienced a rise of political instability and religious dissent, the closing of the theatres, and the emergence of a middle class
Elizabeth Sauer examines how this played out in the nation's book and print industry with an emphasis on performative writings, their materiality, reception, and their extra-judicial function. 'Paper-contestations' and Textual Communities in England, 1640-1675 challenges traditional readings of literary history, offers new insights into drama and its transgression of boundaries, and proposes a fresh approach to the politics of consensus and contestation that animated seventeenth-century culture and that distinguishes current scholarly debates about this period."--BOOK JACKET.
