David Atkinson has published widely on ballads in scholarly journals and conference proceedings. For the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library he has catalogued the Maud Karpeles manuscript collection, and compiled an introductory bibliography and discography of English folk song (which is available online). He is a member of the editorial board of Folk Music Journal, and secretary/editor of the Kommission für Volksdichtung (International Ballad Commission). His central research interests are in ballads and folk songs, extending into theories of tradition and revival. He is currently part of a team working on the James Madison Carpenter Collection of folk song and music, drama, and speech, based at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield.

• Contents: Preface; General editor's preface; Introduction: accessing ballad tradition; The lover's tasks in 'The Unquiet Grave'; Comic ballads and married life; Incest and 'Edward'; Motivation, gender, and talking birds; Magical corpses; and the discovery of murder; An English ballad tradition?; Bibliography; Discography; Index of ballads and songs; General index.

'This is an exceptionally detailed and generally fascinating book...there's plenty here which is very worthwhile and enjoyable.' Musical Traditions '...David Atkinson's latest contribution is so welcome. (He) surveys the field with disarming use of accessible language...This is a book for students, and I'll be recommending it to mine, but it is also a book for singers and lovers of song... Every bookshelf should have this one.' English Dance & Song magazine, www.efdss.org 'This is a valuable, well-documented, fascinating monograph that should be in the collection of any library whose users are interested in ballad studies.' Notes 'I know of no better work on traditional balladry than this. Atkinson is a thoughtful, perceptive, and very knowledgeable ballad scholar... a godsend to graduate students in folklore or cultural studies. Highly recommended.' Canadian Folk Music Bulletin '... one of the most detailed studies of balladry to have appeared so far. It deserves careful study and offers, in exchange, a wealth of factual material about this fascinating subject.' Folk Music Journal