Abstract
The death of a patron could be devastating. In early modern England, most writers depended upon the patronage of the nobility, as the numerous book dedications of the era bear witness. These dedications, whose pleadings for patronage, protection, and place we almost unthinkingly label fulsome and sycophantic, can be difficult for us to take seriously today. Yet, considered as integral physical parts of the books in which they appeared, book dedications provide significant insights into the operations of the patronage system and the expectations early modern writers had of their readers.1 Particularly rich opportunities for exploring how dedications frame their works arise in changes made following a patron's death, a situation that often forced former clients to confront anew the conventional language of their dedications.
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