Trumpets from the Tower

This volume deals with English Puritan book printing and publishing in the Netherlands, especially in the cities of Amsterdam and Leiden, in the early seventeenth century. Because of censorship in England, many Puritans had to go abroad to have their books printed. Once produced by Dutch presses, the books were shipped, or smuggled, back to England.

The book centers on a body of about 350 Puritanical books, mostly in the English language, printed in the Dutch Republic by Puritan printers in exile or by sympathetic Dutch printers. It examines the chain of authors, printers, publishers, financial backers, smugglers, and booksellers involved. Zealous Puritan believers participated at each stage. This book is important for studying the relationship between Dutch printing and Puritan activities in Britain.