ABSTRACT
In England and France, in particular, reading had for centuries been the preserve of small social, religious, and political elites.5 The church monitored the reading of the scriptures in monasteries and universities, and the king or queen controlled secular publications. In addition, the landed nobility played an important role through its function as patrons.6 Their large influence could allow authors to rise to fame, or it could destroy them. In the United States books and reading had also been the pastime of small elites. Yet higher rates of literacy speak for the “uniqueness” of the United States in that a larger portion of the population had access to reading and the book market.7
