The Ballad-Singer in Georgian and Victorian London

Ballad-singers in London were a paradoxical group, disparaged and persecuted but playing a central part in the nation's social, cultural, and political life. Oskar Cox Jensen's study explores their craft, repertoire, challenges, and changes, demonstrating their importance in the cultural, social, and political processes of continuity, contestation, and change across the nineteenth-century world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 298 pages
Publication date: 09 March 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

For three centuries, ballad singers have flourished at the heart of life in London, a paradoxical phenomenon that has seen them routinely disparaged and persecuted while playing a central role in the social, cultural, and political life of the nation. This rich history spans the Georgian heyday and Victorian decline of those who sang in the city streets to sell printed songs. Oskar Cox Jensen delves into the craft and repertoire of these ballad singers, exploring the challenges they faced and the significant changes they were caught up in. From orphans to veterans, prostitutes to preachers, ballad singers sang of love and loss, the soil and the sea, mediating the events of the day to an audience of hundreds of thousands. Complemented by sixty-two recorded songs, this study showcases ballad singers as figures of central importance in the cultural, social, and political processes of continuity, contestation, and change across the nineteenth-century world.

Ballad singers have been a fixture in London's social, cultural, and political life for centuries, despite facing constant disparagement and persecution. They played a central role in the nation's social, cultural, and political life, despite living on the margins. This history spans the Georgian heyday and Victorian decline of those who sang in the city streets to sell printed songs. Oskar Cox Jensen's study focuses on the people who plied this musical trade, interrogating their craft and repertoire, the challenges they faced, and the great changes they were caught up in.

From orphans to veterans, prostitutes to preachers, ballad singers sang of love and loss, the soil and the sea, mediating the events of the day to an audience of hundreds of thousands. This study complements sixty-two recorded songs to demonstrate how ballad singers are figures of central importance in the cultural, social, and political processes of continuity, contestation, and change across the nineteenth-century world.

Ballad singers have been a persistent presence in London's social, cultural, and political landscape for centuries, despite facing constant discrimination and persecution. They played a vital role in the nation's social, cultural, and political life, despite living on the fringes. This history encompasses the Georgian era and the Victorian decline of those who sang in the city streets to sell printed songs. Oskar Cox Jensen's study delves into the craft and repertoire of these ballad singers, exploring the challenges they faced and the significant changes they were subjected to.

From orphans to veterans, prostitutes to preachers, ballad singers sang of love and loss, the soil and the sea, mediating the events of the day to an audience of hundreds of thousands. This study complements sixty-two recorded songs to illustrate how ballad singers are central figures in the cultural, social, and political processes of continuity, contestation, and change throughout the nineteenth century.

Ballad singers have been a persistent presence in London's social, cultural, and political life for centuries, despite facing constant discrimination and persecution. They played a vital role in the nation's social, cultural, and political life, despite living on the fringes. This history spans the Georgian era and the Victorian decline of those who sang in the city streets to sell printed songs. Oskar Cox Jensen's study delves into the craft and repertoire of these ballad singers, exploring the challenges they faced and the significant changes they were subjected to.

From orphans to veterans, prostitutes to preachers, ballad singers sang of love and loss, the soil and the sea, mediating the events of the day to an audience of hundreds of thousands. This study complements sixty-two recorded songs to illustrate how ballad singers are central figures in the cultural, social, and political processes of continuity, contestation, and change throughout the nineteenth century.

Weight: 446g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108821087