Textual patronage in English drama, 1570-1640

"This book is the first to offer a systematic analysis of prefatory material in English dramatic texts, compelling literary scholars, cultural historians and historians of the book to take seriously the intersection of patronage, book production, and playwrights' textual frames. As Bergeron persuasively argues, we cannot fully comprehend the practice of Renaissance patronage without understanding these documents from England's richest theater period."--Jacket.