Banou moves expertly between present developments in the industry and previous periods in the chronology of the book, offering a number of examples. She draws a comparison between patronage in Renaissance Italy, when special editions were prepared for wealthy book collectors, and today’s crowdfunding of editions featuring the donor’s name. During the Renaissance, the printer offered personalized copies to satisfy the needs and expectations of powerful readers – today we can have printed or digital copies of, say, a children’s story which features an individual child.

Modern day publishers send selected readers advance copies of new books, and look to build online communities around their publishing lists. Readers may be encouraged to participate in the development of fiction, with authors seeking feedback on early drafts and plot development. Literature sites feature a variety of genre and fan fiction, which are trawled by publishers seeking the next big thing. Banou looks back to the case of Pietro Aretino, who in the 16th century saw himself as the ‘secretary of the world’, and who cultivated a direct relationship with his readers. He promoted his work and profile to leverage financial support, fame and money; and he gathered feedback from his readers and thereby added value to his work.

The serialization of stories is back in fashion today, alongside an interest in shorter works, especially for digital publication, and Banou recalls how in the 19th century, the French publisher Louis Hachette created seven special series of shorter works designed for the new railway bookshops. Hachette opened a bookstore at every railway station in France, and his company came to own 750 shops by the end of the century.

Banou ably meets her objective to provide a methodological and theoretical background to explain current issues and trends. Her book provides much food for thought about the direction of the contemporary industry, and it is surely instructive to discover that much of the change we can see merely echoes the past.