'The Pursuit of Style in Early Modern Drama is a powerful intervention in early modern studies: a fresh analytic of the social work of the stage, delivered in brisk, seductively enjoyable prose. Hunter's exploration in cultural poetics reveals how the London theatre forged a mutually constitutive relationship between style and publicity, and also provides the outline of a new history of English Renaissance drama.' András Kiséry, City College New York 'Matthew Hunter brings an entirely fresh perspective to the notion of style in early modern drama, conceiving it in terms of generative forms directly affecting interaction in the public world. He shows, on the one hand, how people adapted such polished theatrical forms as 'tough talk,' 'court talk,' or' 'love talk' as scripts for their own social performances, and, on the other, how people reacted to one another's 'misfires' in their attempts at stylistic appropriation. The book brilliantly illuminates the dialogic feedback loop by which stage-plays both create and parody the public's aspirational pursuit of style.' Lynne Magnusson, University of Toronto Hunter's book is not only about style but stylish in itself, and although it is very high concept, it is also attentive to detail a sustained and perceptive account of the way in which early modern plays contributed to the development of talk both on stage and off it.' Lisa Hopkins, Modern Philology
