Boydell & Brewer Ltd was formed in 1978. It merged two companies, Boydell Press & D.S. Brewer, whose founders, Richard Barber & Derek Brewer, were themselves scholars - Brewer a Chaucer specialist & subsequently Professor of English and Master of Emmanuel College, Barber a medieval historian & Arthurian. Medieval studies originally formed the core of the list, but it has rapidly expanded to embrace the humanities in all periods up to and including the present day. In 1996 the company bought John Varey's Tamesis list and became the leading Hispanic studies imprint outside Spain. Tamesis specialised in the publication of archive studies of Spanish theatrical history & scholarly editions & monographs relating to the literature, history, art & philology of the Spanish-speaking world. Recently the series has broadened to include more studies on living writers, Latin American subjects, film & history. The Boydell Press has also become one of the leading publishers of books on classical music. Initially the list had a particular focus on British music & music of the twentieth century, but this has since broadened to include all periods & genres. Seeking to establish a presence in the US market, B&B entered into a partnership agreement with the University of Rochester to found the University of Rochester Press in June 1989. Alongside publications in the fields of African studies, philosophy, & social & medical history, URP is also home to the prestigious Eastman Studies in Music series. In 1998 the US programme was extended further with B&B's acquisition of Camden House, a scholarly publisher of books on German & American literature & culture. In 2008, the renowned publisher of books in African Studies, James Currey Ltd joined the B&B group of imprints. Founded in 1984, when James Currey left Heinemann Educational Books as publisher of the acclaimed African Writers series, this independent imprint continued his personal engagement in African publishing.