This work investigates the intersection of eighteenth-century Shakespearean textual criticism and the evolving cultural identity of the scholar in British society. Simon Jarvis, a scholar of English literature, utilizes a rigorous analysis of editorial practices, classical philology, and contemporary literary works to argue that the editing of Shakespeare was a central site for defining the role of the intellectual in the public sphere. By examining the tension between the 'scholar' and the 'gentleman,' the text demonstrates how editorial labor served as a proxy for broader political and linguistic debates regarding the formation of a national literary culture.

Scholars in the field of eighteenth-century studies frequently cite this work as a definitive examination of the period's editorial culture. The text is noted for its high level of academic density and its meticulous attention to the political implications of philological labor.