THE MARTIN MARPRELATE TRACTS. A Modernized and Annotated Edition.

First paperback edition. Softcover. Publisher's original illustrated boards, with titles in white to the spine and in white and black to the upper board. With six black and white illustrations throughout. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, bright and fresh, with just a touch of rubbing to the extremities. The contents are clean throughout, and without inscriptions or stamps.

The definitive edition of the Marprelate tracts, widely considered the most famous pamphlets of the English Renaissance. The first hardcover edition, released in 2008, was the first fully annotated edition of the tracts to appear in almost a century. The true identity of 'Martin Marprelate' has been debated among scholars for centuries, with editor Joseph L. Black putting forward an authoritative argument for the Warkwickshire squire and Member of Parliament Job Throckmorton (1545-1601) as the main author, assisted by John Penry (1563-1593), Wales' most famous Protestant Separatist martyr and author of several polemics. Both men have been popular contenders among scholars for the 'Marprelate' identity.