Customer Reviews

Favorite Parlour Poetry: An Annotated Anthology (Dover Books on Literature & Drama)

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This is a reprint of "Parlour Poetry: A Hundred And One Improving Gems" which is the book I have, but in all respects apart from the title and the cover it appears to be identical.

Simply as an anthology of verse this is a superior collection, I have about two feet of poetry anthologies on my shelves and this is the one I look in to most often. Accessible classics by Wordsworth, Longfellow, Kippling and other famous wordsmiths sit alongside one hit wonders and the great but now forgotten.

Added to this fine selection are short commentaries on each poem with a biographical note on it's author. These are all well written and informative without being overlong, Michael R Turner has researched his subject thoroughly but never gets carried away with his knowledge to the detriment of your pleasure. He also sets the scene for us and provides context in a concise and very entertaining preface.

All in all, a well chosen buffet of delights and (if it has Michael Turner's original) worth the purchase for the preface alone.

I love this book. It has all the old poetry that I grew up with in it.