Books by W. S. Gilbert

A Sensation Novel (1871) is a comic musical by W. S. Sullivan. First performed at the Royal Gallery of Illustration in January 1871, A Sensation Novel is one of Gilbert¿s collaborations with composer Thomas German Reed, whose German Reed Entertainments have been credited with revitalizing British theatre. As a satire of Victorian sensation novels that employs self-aware stock characters, the play is a metatheatrical work that anticipates Luigi Pirandello¿s Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921), predating it by half a century. Lamenting his loss of creative energy, an author appeals to the Spirit of Romance for guidance. Appearing before him, the Spirit reveals a shocking truth: the characters he has been working on are actually the souls of sinners condemned to play their polar opposites for eternity. Not only this, but the characters will soon become real. In a panic, the author flees his home for a time. When he returns, he finds the figures who filled the pages of his novel have taken control of their destinies, defying his restrictions and reveling in the chance to be alive. A story of romance, adventure, and crime ensues, blending the popular themes of the eräs sensation novels for comic effect while investigating the nature of creativity itself. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of W. S. Gilbert¿s A Sensation Novel is a classic work of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

This collection, carefully curated by the secretary of the W.S. Gilbert Society, brings together the best of these sharp, clever, comical tales - many of which are published here for the first time since their first appearance in ephemeral magazines - enriched with the author's own illustrations.

W. S. Gilbert, renowned author of the Savoy Operas, was also the creator of the Bab Ballads-"possibly the best comic verse-and surely the best illustrated-in the English language," according to James Ellis. This is the only book to offer the complete collection of ballads with all original illustrations.