The Specter of the Archive

Reviews / Votes

"Popper's focus on the keepers and users of the records of the Tower of London and the newly formed State Paper Office gives us a brilliant new perspective on statecraft in England, ca. 1559-1700. Greater attention to creating and managing archives changed political practice; skills in paperwork became grounds for advancement and archives were plumbed for arguments to support the full range of political causes of the day, transforming the role of information in governance in ways that still resonate today." * Ann Blair, Harvard University * "This powerful and engaging book offers a bold account of why practices of information management should matter to early modern historians. The Specter of the Archive demands very serious attention, and it will surely stimulate a vigorous debate and a wealth of new research." * Jason Peacey, University College London * "This is a thought-provoking book on issues of considerable historical significance and great contemporary resonance." * Times Literary Supplement * "Stellar. . . Popper's goal. . . is to investigate the momentous transformation of central political authority in England from the mid-sixteenth to early eighteenth century in terms of what Popper calls a new 'regime of inscription' (6) . . . . The Specter of the Archive provides splendidly detailed evidence of how the transformation played out." * American Historical Review * "The book is comprehensive and detailed. . . [Popper] demonstrate[s] the scale of record-keeping and sharing in early modern England, as well as the appetite for information in a period when the state was increasingly concerned with the people and the people with the state." * The Historian *