A Bibliographical Note by Clement Shorter.
George Borrow commenced his literary career with a translation of Klinger's "Faustus" in 1825, and by a compilation of "Celebrated Trials" in the same year. Both these appeared in London while he was engaged as a eller's hack, as described in "Lavengro." In 1826 Borrow returned to Norwich, and there he issued from the printing-house of S. Wilkin, in the Upper Haymarket, these "Romantic Ballads." He had worked hard at collecting subscribers, and two hundred copies were reserved for Norwich at half a guinea each copy; the remaining three hundred out of an edition of five hundred were sent to London. Some of these bear the imprint of John Taylor, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, 1826, while the remainder bear the imprint of Wightman Cramp, of Paternoster Row, in the same year. Dr. Knapp only knew of the Taylor edition, because that is referred to in the correspondence. Copies, however, of the Wightman Cramp edition are in existence, and the title-page will be found reproduced with those of the first and second issue in the opening pages of this volume. Borrow sent copies to Lockhart, and Cunningham advised gifts to other reviewers; but not a single review of the appeared. Yet his subscription list "amply paid all expenses," as Borrow states in a letter to Cunningham. That list reveals the fact that such diverse persons as Dr. Bathurst, Bishop of Norwich, and Thurtell, the murderer of Mr. Weare, were among the Norwich subscribers, while Benjamin Haydon, John Timbs, and Thomas Campbell paid their half-guineas from London. Thurtell, we may add, was hanged before the appeared.
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