The paratexts in early modern English playbooks – the materials to be found primarily in their preliminary pages and end matter – provide a rich source of information for scholars interested in Shakespeare, Renaissance drama and the history of the book. In addition, these materials offer valuable insights into the rise of dramatic authorship in print, early modern attitudes towards theatre, notorious literary wrangles and the production of drama both on the stage and in the printing house. This unique two-volume reference is the first to include all paratextual materials in early modern English playbooks, from the emergence of print drama to the closure of the theatres in 1642. The texts have been transcribed from their original versions and presented in old-spelling. With an introduction, user's guide, multiple indices and a finding list, the editors provide a comprehensive overview of seminal texts which have never before been fully transcribed, annotated and cross-referenced.

'The value of these volumes lies in the fact that they lend themselves to a different kind of browsing from a search engine, which requires you to ask the right question in order to get what you already know you want. Reading through the pages of the Berger–Massai collection is like reading an anthology of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writing chosen, not for its quality, but simply because it happens to be part of a playbook … There is much to please readers who didn’t know they wanted it until they read it.'

Lois Potter Source: The Times Literary Supplement

'[An] immensely useful book … Berger and Massai’s work will be widely used for generations.'

Zachary Lesser Source: Shakespeare Quarterly

'Berger and Massai’s anthology provides a much-needed source in a rapidly expanding field without which a full appreciation of paratexts would not be possible. It is an admirable feat and will remain a solid source of information.'

Jitka Štollová Source: Cambridge Quarterly