"This monument of research, synthesis, and reflection is a groundbreaking book that stands as its own major contribution to folklore and ballad studies and serves as a stimulus for further research
just as Child's own titanic work has done. I learned many things from this book, as will anyone who opens its pages."
Maureen N. McLane, author of Balladeering, Minstrelsy, and the ... Read moreMaking of British Romantic Poetry  "A key text for English-language ballad studies."
Victorian Studies "An important resource.  Brown's project gives Anglo-American folksong scholarship a formidable point of reference to reexamine Child's ongoing impact on song scholarship and practice."
Journal of Folklore Research "This illuminating study captures the richness of Francis James Child's labors on The English and Scottish Popular Ballads through a patient scrutiny of his vast correspondence with a host of collaborators. In tracing Child's conclusions about the ballads, Brown provides valuable analysis of the letters that will be appreciated by ballad scholars, folklorists, and scholars of literature alike."
James Porter, founding editor of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music "I did not anticipate that a book about the writing of an earlier book, albeit a classic collection, could be so interesting, engaging, informative and exciting as this one. . . .Brown adds new material and insights, and brings the story together in a unified whole that is compelling, insightful, sometimes surprising, and beautifully written."
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