Sir Patrick Spens and Other Ballads

This anthology gathers traditional narrative ballads in English and Scots, taking its title from the shipwreck ballad of Sir Patrick Spens, the skipper sent to sea on a king's errand in winter. Companion pieces are typically of the same folk-song kind: border raids, murdered sweethearts, revenants, outlaw deeds, and tragic rides. Stanzas are incremental and impersonal; speakers are rarely named authors. There is no continuous plot across the book. The collection is a reader of popular ballad narrative, not a history of the Border and not a single poet's canon.

Bound in purple moire silk with a gilt on black cover label. Gold lightweight card slipcase embossed with FS logo. Pattern printed gilt on black endpapers. Miniature poetry series.