“ It is often the parishioners, the men and women in the pews, who set the tone. ”
A long list of propositions does not necessarily make a coherent argument
~ Andrew Pettegree
The stranglehold of the departed was much resented by the new generation of aspiring authors. Which is why it is who did make the breakthrough were so admired.
Because there was no pre-existing patrician elite, those successful in the new book industry could write very swiftly to the top of the social hierarchy.
Print, it transpired, was not just an instrument of agitation and change: now it was equally necessary to win the peace.
