Review by Choice Review
Blake, a leading Caxton scholar, takes stock of this seminal figure in the history of English literature, printing, and publishing in this comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography. Blake includes works on Caxton's life, his printing and publishing activities, and his literary achievement as a translator; he also provides an annotated listing of the books produced by Caxton and available facsimiles of these. The bibliography encompasses general reference works, literary and historical background, and the 15th-century printing trades. Coverage is through 1983. Blake briefly comments on nearly all of the bibliography's 1,400 entries. There are, however, weaknesses in this work. The scope of its eight sections is not always clear and there is no in-depth general introduction and/or special introductions to each section. Furthermore, in most sections books and articles dealing with Caxton are mixed with general and specialized works that do not refer to him specifically, a questionable arrangement in view of the volume's incomplete indexing of non-Caxton items. A genuine subject index to supplement the ``Name'' (i.e., author and name subject) and ``Title'' indexes would have been very helpful. There are a number of misleading typos. This is a useful tool, but it could have been better.-J.H. Kaimowitz, Trinity College, Conn.
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
