Martin Lyons is Professor in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has published widely on the history of books and reading, including Readers and Society in Nineteenth-Century France: Workers, Women, Peasants and Ordinary Writings, Personal Narratives: Writing Practices in 19th- and Early 20th-Century Europe.

'The perfect book for bibliophiles … elegantly designed and produced' - The Oldie

• Introduction: The Power and Magic of the Book • 1. Ancient and Medieval World • 2. The New Culture of Print • 3. Enlightenment and the Masses • 4. The Publisher Arrives • 5. Knowledge for All • Conclusion: The New Age of the Book

Martin Lyons is Professor in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has published widely on the history of books and reading, including Readers and Society in Nineteenth-Century France: Workers, Women, Peasants and Ordinary Writings, Personal Narratives: Writing Practices in 19th- and Early 20th-Century Europe.

'The perfect book for bibliophiles … elegantly designed and produced' - The Oldie

• Introduction: The Power and Magic of the Book • 1. Ancient and Medieval World • 2. The New Culture of Print • 3. Enlightenment and the Masses • 4. The Publisher Arrives • 5. Knowledge for All • Conclusion: The New Age of the Book

Martin Lyons is Professor in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has published widely on the history of books and reading, including Readers and Society in Nineteenth-Century France: Workers, Women, Peasants and Ordinary Writings, Personal Narratives: Writing Practices in 19th- and Early 20th-Century Europe.

'The perfect book for bibliophiles … elegantly designed and produced' - The Oldie

• Introduction: The Power and Magic of the Book • 1. Ancient and Medieval World • 2. The New Culture of Print • 3. Enlightenment and the Masses • 4. The Publisher Arrives • 5. Knowledge for All • Conclusion: The New Age of the Book