THE LOST STORIES OF W. S. GILBERT

Sir William Schwenk Gilbert is today famous for the brilliant partnership with Arthur Sullivan which produced comic operas loved all over the world for their witty songs and ingenious plots as well as their eminently singable tunes.Gilbert was, though, established as a writer long before the two men started working together, con- tributing to some of the most important magazines of the day {Fun, Cornhill, London Society, Punch). And no doubt the phenomenal success of the operas has caused the overshadowing of other writings - in particular the varied and inventive short stories which he personally believed were among his finest work.In this book is the first-ever collection of the best of these tales, complete with Gilbert's quirky and unmistakable illustrations. The topsy- turvy world of the operas is inhabited by the characters in these stories, which are set in a realm of quaint mesalliances and, often, humorous supernaturalism where only the probable never happens. There are tales humorous and grim, tales witty and even romantic. There are stories, such as 'The Elixir of Love', which were the basis of later successes - and there are even the 1868 verses he wrote for Fun which give the first hint of Trial by Jury.For the enthusiast of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas this collection of stories will prove an absolute feast - as it will for any lover of witty and whimsical writing.