This chapter explores the frantic burst of publishing activity that followed Queen Caroline’s patronage of Stephen Duck. This activity was instrumental in shaping how Duck and his work would be viewed during his life and beyond. Duck’s verse was initially published without his, or his patrons’, consent; as it quickly became a bestseller, it was followed onto the market by a slew of rival, pirated, and spurious pamphlets. Duck and his patrons had very little control over how work issued in his name was presented to the reading public, and, as this chapter reveals, their complaints very quickly became embroiled in a fiercely contested dispute about authority, authenticity, and accuracy. Duck’s patrons and supporters found it difficult to gain a hearing; their sincere statements were crowded out by competing assertions issued by energetic, innovative, and financially motivated booksellers and printers. As this chapter argues, the more that Duck’s supporters tried to object to the unauthorized reproduction of Duck’s verse, the more opportunities they created for others to raise doubts about Duck’s capabilities as a poet.
M. Hrushevskyi’s Publishing Activity in Kyiv in 1907-1914 As a Component of Hrushevskyi Studies: Epistolary and Journalistic Aspect
