I’m in publishing and y’all are librarians, so I think it’s safe to assume we love books and therefore owe our livelihoods to a Mr. Johannes Gutenberg. In her debut novel Gutenberg’s Apprentice, Alix Christie pulls together the threads of history in an enthralling new tale that explores the story of the first printing press and the lives of the three men who made its existence possible.
Young Peter Schoeffer is on his way to success as a professional scribe in Paris when his foster father, wealthy merchant and bookseller Johann Fust, calls him home to meet Johannes Gutenberg, who has invented a revolutionary way to manufacture books: the printing press. Fust is funding Gutenberg’s workshop and orders Peter to become his apprentice. As Peter’s skills in “the darkest art” grow, so too does his admiration for Gutenberg and their mission to mass produce copies of the Holy Bible. When mechanical difficulties and interference from the Catholic Church threaten their work, tension spreads between the three men as they face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Together, they must fight for the completion and success of the printing press and the future of books and publishing as we know it today.
Check out this exciting read on Edelweiss (though it does seem kind of ironic to read it electronically).
-Amanda