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Elsa Fougt (1744–1826), a woman entrepreneur, was one of the leading figures in the late eighteenth-century Swedish book trade. Her main enterprise was the printing house Kongl. Tryckeriet (the Royal Printing House), which was responsible for printing and publishing the official documents of the Swedish realm. Besides her office as Royal Printer, she also ran a publishing house, two bookshops and a type foundry, as well as being the editor of the Swedish newspaper Stockholms Weckoblad.

The dissertation analyzes Fougt's different enterprises and her position in the book trade between 1780 and 1810, from the perspectives of sociology of literature and gender history. It consists of five independent articles, preceded by an introductory chapter which summarizes the articles and discusses their main findings. The first two articles explore the office of the Royal Printer during the whole eighteenth century, while the third article concerns Elsa Fougt’s position as Royal Printer. The fourth article is a study of Fougt's publishing house, and the fifth and final article focuses on her international bookshop, where, among other things, she sold clandestine books imported from the STN in Switzerland.

Fougt's successful career was made possible by a number of favourable circumstances, the most important being her family background and network. Her father Peter Momma held the office of Royal Printer, and Elsa Fougt and her husband Henric inherited his position when he died. When Henric passed away in 1782, Elsa – as a widow – was legally allowed to take up the office of Royal Printer independently.

The fact that Elsa Fougt was a woman does not seem to have particularly affected her role as Royal Printer. In comparison with her predecessors, her position as Royal Printer appears to have been rather strong. She was a shrewd businesswoman who successfully negotiated with the authorities for higher financial compensation. Her office was obviously of greater importance than her gender.

Being both a publisher, a printer, and a bookseller, Fougt handled most of the functions of the book trade, although she distinguished between these different functions. Furthermore, rather than just being an intermediary of books, she also took part in the creation of them, for example by initiating texts and editing manuscripts.

In the book trade of her time, Fougt can be seen as both a traditionalist – holding the inherited office of Royal Printer – and an innovator, representing a more modern literary system with increased specialization.