Portrait of George Borrow

Free eBooks

All of George Borrow’s major works, published during his lifetime, are now out of copyright and as such you can obtain free copies of all of the books to read on your eBook reader, phone or computer.

The free eBooks listed below are also very useful for research as you can search for words and phrases, something which is very time consuming if you only have the printed book.  If you cannot remember where Petulengro reminded Borrow of the money he lent him, you have only to download the eBooks and search.

The books below are all available via Project Gutenberg, a non-profit organisation which makes available out of copy books.

Title of Book

Edition

Gutenberg number

Notes

Romantic Ballads

1913 Jarrold and Sons

2430

Exact copy of the original edition.  Mainly translations of Danish ballads, but lots of other languages also translated.

Faustus

1864 W. Kent and Co.

25468

Translation of Klinger’s re-telling of the legend of Fautus.  George Borrow’s translation was publically burned at Norwich!

Targum

The 1913(?) Jarrold reprint

12510

Translations of poetry from thirty different languages

The Talisman

The 1913(?) Jarrold reprint

12458

Translation of some of Pushkin’s poems, and other Russian translations

Embéo e Majaró Lucas

1837 (Madrid)

29470

Borrow’s translation of the Gospel of Luke into Caló, the language of the Spanish Gypsies (entirely in Caló)

The Zincali

1901 John Murray

565

All about the Gypsies of Spain and their language.  This transcription lacks the Caló vocabulary.

The Bible in Spain

1908 Cassell and Company

415

Cheap edition without notes or pictures.  About Borrow’s five years in the Peninsula

The Bible in Spain

1896 John Murray (2 vols.)

35642 & 35676

Edited by Spanish scholar Ulick Ralph Burke, lots of background information, with pictures

Lavengro

1911 John Murray

23287

Edited by Knapp.  Knapp’s notes at the end made lots of things known for the first time.  Generally considered an authoritive edition.  Includes illustrations.

Lavengro

1914 T. N. Foulis

30792

No editor but beautiful colour pictures by Edmund J. Sullivan.

Lavengro

1900 Macmillan and Co.

452

Black and white illustrations by Edmund J. Sullivan, and an introduction by Augustine Birrell

Lavengro

1901 Methuen & Co. (2 vols.)

22877 & 22878

Edited by Gypsy scholar Francis Hindes Groom.  Good introduction on gypsy matters.

Lavengro

1893 Ward, Lock, Bowden, and Co.

20198

Contains a valuable introduction by George Borrow’s friend Theodore Watts-Dunton and illustrations.

 The Romany Rye

1900 Ward, Lock and Co.

21206

Valuable introduction by George Borrow’s friend Theodore Watts-Dunton and black and white illustrations

The Romany Rye

1907 John Murray

????

Edited by Knapp and contains very valuable notes, list of gypsy words and bibliography.  Illustrated in black and white

The Romany Rye

1903 Methuen & Co.

25071

Valuable introduction and notes by gypsy scholar John Sampson, some illustrations

The Romany Rye

1907 J. M. Dent

422

Just the text, no illustration nor editor’s notes

The Sleeping Bard

1860 John Murray

20634

Borrow’s spirited translation of Ellis Wyn’s classic tale of a trip to see the World, the kingdom of Death and Hell.

The Welsh and Their Literature

1861 London Quarterly Review

33336

Long essay on the Welsh and their literature where Borrow reviews his own translation of The Sleeping Bard(!)

Wild Wales

1907 John Murray

648

The illustrations aren’t included because of copyright issues

Wild Wales

1906 June J. M. Dent

37665

Valuable introduction by Borrow’s friend Theodore Watts-Dunton, no illustrations

Romano Lavo-Lil

1905 John Murray

2733

Borrow’s word book of the Romany language

The Turkish Jester

1924 Norwich Edition(?)

16244

Borrow’s translation of unusual set of Turkish stories

Letters of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible Society

1911, Hodder and Stoughton

603

Unfortunately this transcription lacks the valuable notes by Darlow

There’s also books which are excepts from George Borrow’s works:

Title

Edition

Gutenberg number

Notes

Isopel Berners

1901 Hodder and Stoughton

18400

Valuable introduction by Thomas Seccombe, contains the story of the Dingle as found in Lavengro and Romany Rye

The Pocket George Borrow

1912 Chatto & Windus

13957

Edward Thomas picks his favourite passages

There’s also a number of free biographical and background works:

Title

Edition

Gutenberg number

Notes

The Life of George Borrow

1912 John Murray

3481

Readable and detailed biography of George Borrow by Herbert Jenkins

George Borrow in East Anglia

1896 David Nutt

27865

Rather cursary biography of George Borrow which doesn’t really deal much with East Anglia

George Borrow: The Man and his Books

1912 Chapman and Hall

18588

Edward Thomas gives a potted biography and considers the literary aspects of Borrow

George Borrow 1913 Celebration

1913 Jarrold and Sons

 21538

Biography, illustrations, and what happened at the “centenary” of George Borrow’s birth (which was 10 years too late!)

George Borrow: A Sermon Preached in 1913

1913 Jarrold and Sons

21776

The Bishop of Norwich’s sermon preached during the celebrations (was about George Borrow)

George Borrow

Times Literary Supplement, 10th July 1903

30887

Short article about George Borrow by Thomas Seccombe

Lastly, in 1913–1914 Thomas J. Wise published a set of 42 pamphlets containing (mainly) previously unpublished works by George Borrow.  These pamphlets are all fairly short and most contain previously unpublished poetical translations.  Borrovians feel that in the rush to publish Thomas J. Wise often published inferior translations (George Borrow often translated the same thing many times).  The most important of the pamphlets is the “Supplemental Chapter to the Bible in Spain”, which is the review of Richard’s Ford’s Hand-book that George Borrow wrote but that wasn’t published.  It does read as an excellent extra chapter to Borrow’s most famous work, even if it doesn’t really mention Ford’s Hand-book.

By way of introduction to the entire set Thomas J. Wise published a Bibliography of the Works of George Borrow, which isn’t totally accurate as far as bibliography goes, but did a splendid job of advertising his pamphlets which are dealt with at length.

Title

Gutenberg number

A Bibliography of the Works of George Borrow

25939

A Supplementary Chapter to The Bible in Spain

29469

The Serpent knight, and other ballads

29649

Alf the freebooter, Little Danneved and Swayne Trost, and other ballads

26787

Brown William, The power of the harp, and other ballads

26788

Emelian the fool

26789

The brother avenged, and other ballads

26790

Ermeline, a ballad

26791

Grimmer and Kamper, The end of Sivard Snarenswayne, and other ballads

26792

The expedition to Birting's land, and other ballads

26793

King Diderik and the fight between the lion and dragon, and other ballads

26802

King Hacon's death and Bran and the black dog: two ballads

26803

Little Engel, a ballad; with a series of epigrams from the Persian

26805

Marsk Stig, a ballad

26831

Marsk Stig's daughters, and other songs and ballads

26832

Niels Ebbesen and Germand Gladenswayne, two ballads

26833

The nightingale, The valkyrie and raven, the other ballads

26834

Proud Signild and other ballads

27396

Ulf Van Yern, and other ballads

27405

Axel Thordson and fair Valborg: a ballad

27406

The Return of the dead, and other ballads

27407

Mollie Charane, and other ballads

27408

The king's wake, and other ballads

27409

Hafbur and Signe: a ballad

27473

Queen Berngerd, The bard and the dreams, and other ballads

27474

The Story of Tim

28770

Child Maidelvold, and other ballads

28771

Ellen of Villenskov, and other ballads

28772

Finnish arts; or, Sir Thor and Damsel Thure: a ballad

28774

Letters to his Mother, Ann Borrow

28784

Letters to his Wife, Mary Borrow

28814

Signelil, a tale from the Cornish, and other ballads

28816

The Dalby bear, and other ballads

28817

The giant of Bern and Orm Ungerswayne: a ballad

28818

The mermaid's prophecy, and other songs relating to Queen Dagmar

28824

The Verner raven, The count of Vendel's daughter, and other ballads

28825

The song of Deirdra, King Byrge and his brothers, and other ballads

28826

The songs of Ranild

28830

The Story of Yvashka with the Bear’s Ear

28834

The tale of Brynild, and King Valdemar and his sister: two ballads

28835

Tord of Hafsborough, and other ballads

28985

Young Swaigder; or, The force of runes, and other ballads

28986

Grimhild's vengeance, and other ballads

29103

The fountain of Maribo, and other ballads

29123

The Gold Horns

29124

 

Borrovians will look through the above and ask “Where’s XYZ?  How could you have missed out XYZ?”  You’ll find other free eBooks about George Borrow in Gutenberg—the above isn’t exhaustive.  Also, David Price, who transcribed the above for Project Gutenberg, needs to stop lazing about in coffee shops and get the two volume transcript of Knapp finished, he’s had it almost done for years now!