author
Wynkyn de Worde
d. 1534
A key figure in the first century of English printing, this energetic publisher helped turn printed books from a novelty into something much more widely available. Working first with William Caxton and then on his own, he issued hundreds of titles and helped shape what readers in England could find in print.
1 Audiobook
The Pain and Sorrow of Evil Marriage
by Wynkyn de Worde
About the author
Probably born in Alsace, Wynkyn de Worde worked with William Caxton, England’s first printer, and took over Caxton’s press after his death in the early 1490s. He later moved the business to Fleet Street in London and built it into one of the most active printing houses of the period.
He is often remembered not just as a printer, but as a smart publisher who understood a growing market for books in English. Sources describe him as producing a very large number of titles, including religious works, practical books, and popular reading, helping to spread print culture more widely in England.
He is also credited with technical and design innovations, including being the first printer in England to use italic type. Because he lived so early in the history of printing, reliable personal details are limited, and readily available pages do not clearly offer a suitable portrait photograph or painting of him.