This work investigates the transformative role of the printing press in shaping the development, dissemination, and conceptualization of European theater between 1480 and 1880. Julie Stone Peters, a scholar of literature and media history, utilizes a vast array of primary sources—ranging from early playtexts to theatrical ephemera—to argue that print culture was not merely a secondary medium for drama but a primary force in the evolution of theatrical identity. By examining the intersection of text and performance, the author demonstrates how the mechanics of publication fundamentally altered the way plays were written, read, and performed across four centuries.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the material culture of the theater. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous framework for analyzing the intersection of print technology and dramatic art.