The Spook Ballads

"Ingoldsby, Thomas Hood, W. S. Gilbert,—these are the names that occur to one in trying to 'place' Mr. Parkes after reading this volume of rollicking, verbal and pictorial fun. The Spook Ballads are in no sense imitations of any of those classics of the comic muse, yet we find in them the same thorough abandonment to 'the humour of the thing.'"—The Publisher's Circular.

"A substantial volume introducing a Comic Poet, who in the future may give us a modern Ingoldsby. Mr. Parkes has an intellectual touch to his drollery and his sense of the possible humours of versification is pleasantly keen, the Spook Ballads is far above the contemporary average of the lighter rhymesters. Mr. Parkes wields a sprightly pencil, and he has illustrated his verses lavishly and with effect."—The Stage.

"Not only are the literary merit of these fantastic ballads of a high order, but the illustrations by the author are of such a humorous nature as to give a unique pleasure to the reader."—The Morning Leader.

"Well written, well illustrated, and funny is a combination of good qualities not often met with even in the Spook world, so Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co., ought to be well pleased with their publication."—The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.

"Dealing largely with ghosts and legends embracing a dash of diablerie such as would have been dear to the heart of Ingoldsby. There is a rugged force in 'The Girl of Castlebar' that will always make it tell in recitation; and even greater success in this direction has attended 'The Fairy Queen,' a story unveiling the seamy side, with quaint humour and stern realism. It is specially worthy of note that Mr. Parkes's skill in versification has received the warmest acknowledgment from those best qualified to appreciate the bright local coloring as well as the blending of fancy and fun."—Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper.

"A cheery and spirited production, and full of fun; the style reminds one of 'Bon Gaultier,' the style and illustrations combined inevitably recall the famous 'Bab Ballads.' Indeed it is hard to say which is the most felicitous, the draughtsman or the poet."—The Bookseller.

"In the attractive Spook Ballads, the talented Irish artist has displayed qualities to a remarkable degree. There are many pieces reciters will be glad to lay hold of, while the Ballads and Illustrations are full of the pleasing humour which characterises all Mr. Parkes' work, and which will serve to cheer and to amuse many readers."—The Sun.

"As the combined production of a clever pencil and a clever pen, this volume may be said to be unique. These poems are pure fun of the most entirely frolicsome kind, hung upon the peg of a quaint idea. 'The German Band' rises to a really tragic pathos. The illustrations are either quaint, droll, or dainty, or partake of broad caricature."—The Citizen.

"It contains a store of humour that will delight and amuse the reader, who will be sure to re-read the many capital lays. Just the thing for reciters. The Artist, his own Illustrator, shines here as conspicuously as in the kindred branch of Authorship."—British and Colonial Printer and Stationer.

"Mr. Parkes is clever and polished alike in the expression of humour and pathos. Indescribably funny is his story of the deluge as told by 'Antediluvian Pat O'Toole,' and a note of grim tragedy is struck in the tale of 'John McKune.' Rollicking lays, many of them admirably adapted for recitation, go to make a delightful book, which has the uncommon merit of being well illustrated by Mr. Parkes, who is as skilful an artist as he is an author."—Photographic Journal.

"Spook Ballads possess an amount of boisterous humour and variety of quaint versification which make them excellent and refreshing reading. The book owes a good deal of its charm to the author's clever and laughable illustrations which are plentifully besprinkled in its pages."—The Weekly Sun.

"There is a good store of pleasant humour in Spook Ballads, by Theodore Parkes, who also has a happy gift with the pencil, as witness the illustrations, the fare he provides certainly deserves a really grateful 'grace after meat.'"—The People.

"In his attractive volume, The Spook Ballads, Mr. Theodore Parkes has shown himself to be not only an author but an artist of considerable talents."—Weekly Budget.

"The fun is good humoured and light-hearted, and better than most popular verse as to rhyme and metre. The illustrations are really clever and range from broad farce to charming little head and tail pieces that are graceful and suggestive."—Borderland.

"—— Ballads all of which are undeniably clever. A book which will be gratefully turned to by all who seek occasional relaxation in the best of good company."—The Surveyor.

"A clever collection of poems illustrated by their author and deserve great popularity. The author is well known in London literary circles in which he has given several of the pieces here presented as recitations."—The Lamp.

"Irrespective of the pleasure to be derived from reading the Ballads, the book is well worth obtaining for the author's remarkably clever illustrations."—South London Press.

"A facile flow of versification, keen sense of humour, and a good mastery of English as she is spoke by Irish, German and other nationalities, as well as how she should be spoken, characterise this book of ballads. The sketches are well adapted to the themes."—Manchester Courier.

"'The Colonel and the Cook' is not only genuine farce in conception, but felicitous anti-pathos in the execution."—Manchester Guardian.

"These Ballads are as original and racy and facetious as any I have come across for a long time; Parkes's pencil is a lively companion for his pen; the two of them rollick and frolic down page after page in a state of hilarity that would dissipate and dispose of the worst attack of 'blues.' The sun does not shine every day, and when the hour is dark and dreary there will be found enlivement and joviality and wholesome entertainment within the covers of this volume."—Free Lance in the Weekly Irish Times.

"If any of our readers wish to enjoy a long and pleasant life let them ask for Spook Ballads! there is abundance of mirth, fun, wit and merriment in this beautiful volume."—Munster Express.

"About as laugh-inspiring verse as perhaps ever issued from the Press, the Spook Ballads are one and all conceived in a most exuberant spirit of drollery. There is a laugh almost in every line, fun galore bubbles through every page. Where could one find a more touching combination of humour and pathos than the dedication lines 'Bohemians Hail!' There are lines in it worthy of some of the best touches of Poe. The book is a book for bon vivants. It is a veritable ode to conviviality, and its pages teeming with most artistic illustrations. Alive with ever-recurring flashes of wit and drollery, will afford many a pleasant hour to all to whom a laugh is welcome."—United Ireland.

"A delightful diverting volume, from cover to cover, of the sixty-one ballads before us; not one halts, they are all boisterous with bubbling mirth and frolic. Happy the man who in a moment of ill humour, lights on a copy of Spook Ballads. Fun of this kind is contagious, and before he has dipped far into Mr. Parkes' pages he will have forgotten his temper or his ennui. The book is full too of social satire, with touches of biting realism."—The Freeman's Journal.

"Most amusingly humorous verses cleverly and quaintly illustrated, and, like all genuine humour, teaches many a needed and important lesson in morals and the conduct of life, and hits sharp blows at hypocrisy and current shams and humbugs. Surely the author must have had Jabez Balfour and the Liberator swindle in his mind when he composed the scathing ballad entitled 'The Devil in Richmond Park.'"—The Christian Age.

"This is a very charming and winning volume. Everything about the book is an incentive to make a prompt acquaintance with its literary merits. Mr. Parkes is a consummate artist in verse, and through all runs the same vein of drollery, of pungency, of real humour difficult to resist, and which makes us wish for more, and much more from so entertaining a pen."—The Carlow Sentinel.

"A collection of humorous verses quaintly and cleverly illustrated by his own pencil. The author has a broad vein of humour."—Evening News (London).

"When parties perusing this volume have completed its 250 pages they will only regret that it is not double its size."—The Irish Times.

"The naivete of the wit is most irresistible, and the humour most amusing. 'The Ghost of Hampton Court' and 'The spirit that held him down' are both decidedly clever, but it is to 'The Girl of Castlebar,' 'The Fairy Queen' and 'Why did ye die?" we turn for all that is most original and sparkling. The volume itself is as tastefully finished outside as it is wittily furnished and illustrated inside."—King's County Chronicle.

"The Spook Ballads will greatly amuse the class of readers who prefer a good hearty laugh to the emotions produced by 'Paradise lost' or 'Hamlet.' The book is crammed with fun of the funniest sort, though it contains many passages which possess a value above mere jollity."—Glasgow Herald.

"There is no lack of rollicking fun in The Spook Ballads. The pieces are always amusing in idea, and the free sweep of the verse has a certain buoyancy which carries a reader pleasantly along."—The Scotsman.

"The humourous drawings are charming, and the figure subjects and decorative designs show great versatility and skill. Mr. Parkes has a wonderful way of introducing odd expressions, quaint conceits, and grotesque imagery. Many a hearty laugh will be got out of the Spook Ballads."—The Aberdeen Journal.

"The illustrations by the Author copiously strewn throughout the work are exceedingly clever, and are in themselves enough to commend the book, and will appeal to readers endowed with a particle of humour. Altogether the book is the kind to cheer the winter fireside or make the summer holiday slide joyously into autumn."—Kirkudbrightshire Advertiser.

"The pages abound in illustrations and marginal etchings, and these display rare artistic skill and a genuine spirit of comicality."—The Derry Journal.

"John M'Kune is racy of the soil, and rests on something stranger than fiction."—The Tyrone Constitution.

THE SPOOK BALLADS.