The Bab Ballads (Harvard paperbacks) (Paperback)

by W. S. Gilbert (Author), James Ellis (Editor)
Key Phrases: The Bishop, The Men of London, East India (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The Bab Ballads" of W. S. Gilbert, admirably introduced and annotated by James Ellis, is a real treat. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
The Bab Ballads of W. S. Gilbert, admirably introduced and annotated by James Ellis, is a real treat. (New Yorker )

Thanks to Mr. Ellis, all the known poems...dress-rehearsals as it were for the operas, are now printed together. And of course they are accompanied by the original Chesterton-delighting illustrations. (Christian Science Monitor )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (April 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674058011
• ISBN-13: 978-0674058019
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,023,378 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As they would have been read by Gilbert himself, September 1, 2000

By	F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bab Ballads (Audio Cassette)

Actually, they practically are read by Gilbert himself, since actor Jim Broadbent will for a long time be associated with that role. His readings are marvelous, especially because he manages to use a different voice for each new character--and there are many, many of them. It is fascinating to catch so many of the concepts Gilbert was to recycle in the later Savoy works. "The Bumboat Woman's Story" is rich in pre-hints of "HMS Pinafore" and was indeed the inspiration for the ballet "Pineapple Poll," which uses only Sullivan's music for the operettas (with a snatch of his Da Ballo Overture thrown in). Doubtless the funniest of the lot is "Etiquette" on the last side of the second tape in which two men thrown up on a dessert island cannot converse because they had not been properly introduced aboard the ill-fated vessel. Not all the poems are comical-- some are darkly pessimistic--but there is many a laugh that will educed by Broadbent's delivery.

"Bab," by the way, was Gilbert's baby nickname; and his use of it tells us a lot about his personality.

Dove Audio, however, has packaged these two cassettes with no table of contents at all; and so there is no way to tell ahead of time exactly what Bab Ballads are recorded, which is really an intolerable situation for an item like this. Also the use of "unabridged" at the top of this Amazon.com page is misleading. While each poem is in fact complete, there are represented here only a very small portion of Gilbert's BB output. What we do have is excellently done, but the 3 hours on these tapes do not hold an "unabridged" collection by any means.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gilbert is a master craftsman of the English language!!, April 19, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Ucluelet, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

William S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) was a master craftsman of the English language. He was renowned as a poet, playwrite and author long before his association with Sir Arthur Sullivan of musical renown. The "Babb Ballads" show the crafstman at his best with sparkling rhymes and funny stories. If you truly love the English language and the skill with which it can be used to amuse and entertain, this book is one that you should not be without.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bab Ballads is a wonderful book of poetry., June 26, 1997

By A Customer

Bab Ballads contains many of the poems that William Scwenck Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan) wrote for the magazine "Fun." They are very funny and I suggest you buy this book