In early modern Europe, literature and literate knowledge were produced within societies organised along hierarchical lines. What difference did that make to literature and literate knowledge? How were they inflected by social hierarchy? This volume asks these questions of genres, disciplines, practices, and writers ranging across Western Europe. There is much to learn and consider in this erudite and engaging volume. Besides its novel insights, it offers a robust and salutary reminder of the extent to which social hierarchies preoccupied early moderns throughout Europe, and how central the production and distribution of status was to the meaning-making of early modern texts. While laying down a map for the broad dimensions of the relationship, Kenny and his contributors have opened a door that will no doubt inspire exploration for years to come.