The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Vol. 1

The rich field of English balladry was virgin territory before Francis James Child entered it. The few published ballad editions that existed were unreliable, filled with unacknowledged editorial changes and distortions of the original manuscripts. Professor Child compiled all the extant ballads with all known variants, and made them available for the first time — together with his invaluable commentary that prefaces each work — in a single source that maintained absolute fidelity to the origina…