The author describes this as a study of 'popular verse, in folklore and literature, in the period between 1880 and 1915, but with many backward glances and much reference to influences from other popular arts, and to parallel developments in them. It is a study in what might be called the social history of the arts. It is a study in the diffusion of cultural forms from the great centres of activity outwards -from the British Isles and North America to Australia, from Australian cities to the bush...'
