San Antonio College Library

"This is the first book to look at the relationship between author and reader in terms of a 'game'. It directs attention to the various means by which an author will 'play' with his reader, and gives examples of the different degrees to which authors of all countries and of all ages have sought to puzzle, to intrigue, or to vex."--Back cover.

"Desperately Seeking Women Readers delves into the history of U.S. newspapers to examine the construction of female readership. Pages designed specifically for women transformed over time as the newspaper industry looked for ways to obtain a greater number of female readers. Dustin Harp investigates the creation and collapse of these pages before considering contemporary case studies to explore the recent revival of sex-specific pages. Interviews...

The author travels from prehistoric caves to the digital bookstores of today, exploring how and what women have read through the ages and across cultures and civilizations, a history marked by persistent efforts to prevent women from gaining literacy or to censor their reading. She also recounts the counter-efforts of remarkable women -- and some men -- who have fought back. The book introduces frustrated female readers of many different eras: disappointed...

"In this groundbreaking study, Lukas Erne argues that Shakespeare, apart from being a playwright who wrote theatrical texts for the stage, was also a literary dramatist who produced reading texts for the page. The usual distinction that has been set up between Ben Jonson carefully preparing his manuscripts for publication, and Shakespeare the man of the theatre, writing for his actors and audience, indifferent to his plays as literature, is questioned...