The first newsbooks, the direct predecessors of modern newspapers, appeared in 1641, yet the reasons for their appearance have never been fully understood. In this book, Raymond charts the development of the English newsbook from its origins to its gradual dominance in the information market. Using manuscript and printed sources, she places the newsbook's appearance a few months before the outbreak of civil war, where it took root in the flourishing political print culture of the 1640's.