All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming [Paperback]

Henry Glassie (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812211391 | ISBN-13: 978-0812211399 | Publication Date: 1983

For the general reader as for the folklorist, this is a fascinating, vivid, and sensitive account that, through its portraits of individuals and of a community, offers a unique insight into a folk custom of the Christmas season.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent book, not only a perceptive study of mumming in Ireland but also an excellent introduction to folklore and what folklorists do. . . . This book is most impressive and can be recommended for any level of adult audience."—Choice

"A beautifully written exploration of a vanishing holiday ritual that can be traced back to the dramas of the sixteenth century and beyond." —Philadelphia Inquirer

"An excellent book recommended both to the student of literature and the general reader interested in folklore."—Irish Echo

"A magnificently comprehensive book. . . . Whether you are a mumming or Wran Boy enthusiast or not, this beautifully produced book will take you into a world of suspended reality, gone, but not quite."—Books Ireland

"Glassie has captured the authentic tang of the Ulster countryman's speech, laconic with surprising shots of hyperbole. . . . A beautifully produced book."—Irish Independent

About the Author

Henry Glassie is College Professor of Folklore at Indiana University. He is the author of Art and Life in Bangladesh, Irish Folktales, The Spirit of Folk Art, and Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, which is also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812211391
• ISBN-13: 978-0812211399
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mumming Revived, June 8, 2004

By 

grasshopper4 (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming (Paperback)

Mumming isn't solely the New Year's tradition that is performed in Philadelphia's streets. In Ireland, it involved masking, music making, storytelling, and folk drama as mummers visited neighbors in holiday celebrations. Henry Glassie's book is a study of the folklore and oral history of mumming within a small community in the border area of Ireland and Ulster. Although the mumming tradition had died out by the mid 20th century, current residents who remembered the mumming tradition describe what one might experience when celebrating a typical evening of the old tradition. The book is a highly readable and insightful study of Irish folklife, and a fine presentation of mumming's memory culture.

4 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not for children, September 30, 2004

By 

Jean Sue Libkind "bookschlepper" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming (Paperback)

This is a serious book by a noted folklore scholar. It is not appropriate for children as noted above.

The Bookschlepper