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Festschrift honours Professor Henry Woudhuysen

Book cover showing title of book (Liber amicorum) and artwork

Liber amicorum H. R. Woudhuysen: a Bibliographical Tribute is a Festschrift for Henry Woudhuysen - one of the most senior and influential early modernists, book historians and scholarly editors of his day - on his retirement as Rector of Lincoln College in 2024. The volume, edited by two of his former PhD students, Daniel Starza Smith and Hazel Wilkinson, brings together essays by friends and colleagues. These essays span some 500 years of literary history, with a strong focus on texts and the people who produce them, reflecting the Rector’s diverse interests and wide influence on literary and bibliographical studies.

Hazel Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham, said: “As well as celebrating the influence of Professor Woudhuysen's own contributions to the fields of book history and literary studies in his published works, the Festschrift is testament to the enormous amount of time he has spent, over the years, in helping to bring the projects of other scholars to fruition, not least with his famous eye for errors, as all of our contributors will attest. We're pleased that Henry's sense of humour is also reflected in the volume though, particularly in essays on the themes of the political problems with retirement; savage reviewers; and maggots and (book)worms.”

Daniel Smith, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern English Literature, King's College London, said: “The fascinating and wide-ranging essays in this collection pay tribute to the breadth and depth of our dedicatee’s expertise. The contributors all speak to an enduring interest of his, showing how his scholarly interests and approaches can cast new light on texts from the medieval period to the nineteenth century.”

Find out more and order the book from Oxford University Press.

Photo of Henry Woudhuysen standing with others in the Lincoln Library

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