James Brophy

In spite of recent research on global and transnational history, the communication networks that united Central Europe with those of the Atlantic World remain under researched. Based on the careers of thirty German publishers over two generations, this book surveys the business worldthat linked the print circuits of the Atlantic World with those of Central Europe. Its themes include: publishing as a transnational trade activity; the explosive growth of translation after 1820; the reinvention of authorship through innovative marketing; publishing houses and their bookstores as cultural centers of urban liberalism; and, finally, the tireless promotion of political journalism. This research also reassesses censorship regimes in Central Europe, examining how publishers worked within and outside state regulation to publish oppositional literature. Portraying publishers as cultural brokers and political actors, this collective biography illuminates new dimensions of Central Europe's political culture.