Author: Isaac Goldberg

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-05-21

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780259865698

Excerpt from Sir Wm. S. Gilbert, a Study in Modern Satire: A Handbook on Gilbert and the Gilbert-Sullivan Operas The sole purpose of the present little book is to lead the reader to a more intimate acquaintance with the works of Sir William S. Gilbert - plays for the most part easily readable, thoroughly enjoyable, wholesomely and fearlessly satiric. I have thought to serve this pur pose best by arranging plays not in chronological order, but according as they are written in prose, verse, or comic opera form. For the sake of greater lucidity I have incorporated the non-musical material into Part I, leaving the operas and considerations arising therefrom to the latter half of the Essay, Part II. The important thing has been to extract the satire, not merely to give plots. The majority of Gilbert's works are easily obtainable; there are here included all that have appeared in the edition of Chatto and Windus (four series), London. The edition might well be issued from new plates and undergo some attempt at editing. Where dates are giv en, they are from the edition mentioned, or from the partial list printed in a note to Percy Fitzgerald's most entertaining work, The Savoy Opera, to which much reference will be made' in the following pages. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.