This work investigates how the intellectual movement of humanism influenced the production, circulation, and valuation of books in sixteenth-century England. Katherine C. Little, a scholar of medieval and early modern literature, examines the intersection of pedagogical reform and material culture. She argues that the humanist emphasis on classical texts fundamentally altered the social and political function of the book as an object of study and status.

Scholars in the field of early modern studies recognize this text as a rigorous contribution to the history of the book and intellectual history. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with Renaissance literary theory and historical methodology.