This study investigates the shifting cultural and economic status of playwriting in England between 1660 and 1710 to determine how the concept of authorship evolved from Renaissance models to modern standards. Paulina Kewes, a scholar of Restoration and eighteenth-century literature, utilizes a combination of archival research and dramatic analysis to examine the professionalization of the playwright. She argues that this specific period served as a critical turning point where writers began to assert intellectual property and professional esteem, effectively bridging the gap between early modern practices and the modern literary marketplace.

Scholars recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the professionalization of the English stage during the Restoration. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the depth of the historical research provided by the author.