ABSTRACT
This introduction begins with an attempt to describe the sheer appeal of The Gentle Craft before turning to what we know of the life of its author and to matters of narrative, form, and textual history. A case can surely be made to the modern reader for a sustained and enjoyable engagement with The Gentle Craft. One obvious aspect of its appeal is to do with the way that the text resonates with the substance of everyday life. The worlds of The Gentle Craft reveal a sympathetic awareness of the people of other lands and their customs. The relationship between shoemaking and social class is a prominent feature of the later 'historical' elements of the book. The most obvious alternative code of masculinity is that associated with warfare. Deloney points to this opposition most clearly in the story of Master Peachey.
