This volume examines private libraries and book ownership in seventeenth-century England, with particular focus on how libraries developed over this period and the social impact that they had. Altogether this is a very worth-while book that changes many preconceived notions about book ownership during the 17th century, showing it to be spread over a much wider sector of the population and covering a much wider range of subjects than has been previously recognised. I warmly recommend it to anyone interested in English book history.