Books by Jean Ritchie

Obsessional sexual desire is the common thread through the stories in this book, tragic examples of how death can come at the hands of a once trusted and loved partner.

Jean Ritchie's Swapping Song Book brings together twenty-one songs from the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. This new edition retains the original text, written by Ritchie, and includes her husband George Pickow's beautiful photographs to help illustrate the stories of such songs as "Jubilee," "The Old Soap Gourd," and "Ground Hog."

The Child ballads, lyric folksongs, play party or frolic songs, Old Regular Baptist lined hymns, Native American ballads, "hant" songs, and carols brought together in this collection were assembled by family members who actively sought out fragments of tunes and completed them by adding or embellishing verses and melodies.