Poems And Ballads (First Series)

Poems and Ballads was the first collection of poetry by English poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne. First published in 1866, the book was very popular in its time, but it was also very controversial due to it's themes of lesbianism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. The poems have common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. They also include mentions of some historical figures, such as Sappho and Jesus. Four years after Swinburne's book came out, the word 'lesbianism' was used for the first time to refer to female homosexuality. This is the 'First Series' of Poems and Ballads. Swinburne followed up his success with a Second and Third series collection.

Part of Anne Haight's List of Banned Books.

This book has 55,359 words, and was originally published in 1866.