Spinola’s Fame in the News Press

Historians of early modern news are generally familiar with The Staple of News, a play written by Shakespeare’s younger contemporary Ben Jonson. First performed in 1625, it was a satire on the newly prominent news trade of the time.¹ The story involves an enterprising London businessman, Master Cymbal, opening an office from which to sell news item by item, as background to a romantic plot in which Pennyboy Junior seeks to revive his family’s fortunes by winning the hand of a wealthy young lady, Aurelia Clara Pecunia. In Act III, scene 2, Pennyboy Junior enters the news staple to purchase