Censorship affects us all. But what do we actually mean by freedom of expression? And who exercises the controls and constraints? This book explores an issue of vital contemporary importance, from a range of cultural and literary perspectives, from the Tudor period to the present. Written by some of the leading experts in the field, this collection charts struggles for artistic expression, reveals how censorship is appropriated as a legitimate tactic in the defence of oppressed and marginalized groups, and analyzes the struggles writers have employed in the face of its complex dynamics. Here variously defined, defended and deplored, censorship emerges as both an unstable and a potent concept.