| The Bab Ballads Contributor(s): Gilbert, W. S. (Author), Ellis, James (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0674058011 ISBN-13: 9780674058019 Publisher: Belknap Press OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2003 Annotation: 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. Gilbert published these poems, together with his own, grotesque drawings signed "Bab," a childhood nickname, in Fun and other magazines in the late nineteenth century. In 1898, the older and by then distinguished Gilbert substituted pallid and inoffensive drawings for the originals, which he had come to believe "erred gravely in the direction of unnecessary extravagance." Since then the ballads have been collected and published in various editions, most of which have featured the revised drawings and only a selection of the poems. This is the only book to offer the complete collection of ballads with all original illustrations, a tribute to the comic genius of a writer known as "the most original dramatist of his generation." This collection will delight readers with its irreverence and wit. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - Literary Criticism | Poetry - Literary Criticism | Humor |
| Dewey: 782.1 |
| LCCN: 77102668 |
| Physical Information: 0.95" H x 7.17" W x 9.24" (1.39 lbs) 384 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. Gilbert published these poems, together with his own, grotesque drawings signed Bab, a childhood nickname, in Fun and other magazines in the late nineteenth century. In 1898, the older and by then distinguished Gilbert substituted pallid and inoffensive drawings for the originals, which he had come to believe erred gravely in the direction of unnecessary extravagance. Since then the ballads have been collected and published in various editions, most of which have featured the revised drawings and only a selection of the poems. This is the only book to offer the complete collection of ballads with all original illustrations, a tribute to the comic genius of a writer known as the most original dramatist of his generation. This collection will delight readers with its irreverence and wit. |
Contributor Bio(s): Ellis, James: - James Ellis has been directing and performing in Gilbert and Sullivan operas for almost fifty years. He was for many years Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College.Ellis, James: - James Ellis has been directing and performing in Gilbert and Sullivan operas for almost fifty years. He was for many years Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. |
