The term ‘paratext’ is used in this edition to refer to all the extra-dramatic texts, such as title-pages, dedications, addresses to the reader, lists of dramatis personae, prologues and epilogues, stationers’ notes and errata lists, which were prefaced or appended to the English printed drama to 1642. This term acquired critical currency when Gérard Genette discussed its functions in Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation (1997) and it is generally used anachronistically to describe the bibliographical make-up of early modern books because there is no counterpart in the period. While the names and specific functions of different types of paratexts were already well established, early modern authors and stationers had no term to refer to these texts collectively.

The paratextual materials included in early modern printed playbooks and gathered for the first time in this two-volume edition represent asubstantial, and yet largely untapped, repository of information about all aspects of the production, reception and transmission of dramatic literature in the period. Especially prominent are references to the changing status of dramatic authorship, to the impact of censorship, to theatrical trends and styles associated with different theatrical venues, and to the popularity of individual plays on the stage and among early modern readers. These topics, along with theatrical venues, stationers’ addresses and other key localities discussed by the authors of the paratexts transcribed in this edition and all the names of playwrights, actors, acting companies, patrons, stationers and dedicatees mentioned in them, can be searched through the multiple indices appended to volume 2.