The Invention of the Newspaper

The first newsbooks, the direct predecessors of the modern newspapers, appeared in 1641, although the reasons for their appearance have never been fully understood. The Invention of the Newspaper is the first interdisciplinary account of the origins and early development of the English newspaper, using both manuscript and printed evidence to explore their political and literary influence; their narrative forms, style, and content; their production, distribution, and reception, and charting their gradual dominance of the market for information.