This early work by Eva March Tappan was originally published in 1901. ‘Old Ballads in Prose’ is a collection of ballads by unknown authors that were sung in the olden days. Eva March Tappan was born on 26th December 1854, in Blackstone, Massachusetts, United States. Tappan began her literary career writing about famous characters from history in works such as ‘In the Days of William the Conqueror’ (1901), and ‘In the Days of Queen Elizabeth’ (1902). She then developed an interest in children’s books, writing her own and publishing collections of classic tales.