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This exploration of the role of the book and book industry in early modern France moves from the new technology of printing to look at the political implications of publishing in the reign of Francis I, including such topics as the founding of royal and university libraries, the role of church-state relations, Richelieu's cultural programme, and censorship. Using Rouen and Grenoble as case studies, the author examines what books were sold, and to which social groups, explaining why the initially successful printers of Rouen were eventually forced out of business by the Parisian courts. The French government is shown to have attempted to suppress and control publication, but these attempts were eventually thwarted by free market forces from Amsterdam and Neufchatel.