Johannes Gutenberg’s printing innovations in 1450 democratized information dissemination. What started out as the production of religious encyclicals for religious institutions soon branched out into scientific papers some of which were condemned as heretical like Galileo’s observations on planetary motions.
Improved printing techniques led the way to increased book production. What started out as highly priced books reserved only for the wealthy and educated soon trickled to the middle class’ love affair with the written word. Novels were made to especially cater to the sentiments and yearnings of the 19th century common man. Europe and America saw the rise of the novel not only as a literary form but as a tool for social change.
