Summary:
{{Template}}
This is a selected list of [[W. S. Gilbert]]'s works, including all that have their own Wikipedia articles. For a complete list of Gilbert's dramatic works, see [[List of W. S. Gilbert dramatic works]].
==Poetry==
* ''[[Bab Ballads|The Bab Ballads]]'', a collection of comic verse published roughly between 1865 and 1871.
==Selected short stories==
* ''[[Foggerty's Fairy and Other Tales]]'', a collection of short stories and essays, mainly from before 1874.
* [http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/other_gilbert/short_stories/index.htm Links to several Gilbert stories]
;Publications that include one or more of Gilbert's short stories that are not in ''Foggerty's Fairy and Other Tales'':
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=I08ZAAAAYAAJ ''Belgravia''], vol. 2 (1867). “From St. Paul’s to Piccadilly,” pp. 67-74
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=brEOAAAAQAAJ ''Fun''], vol. 1 new series (1865-1866) (several contributions by Gilbert; near end of volume, Fun Christmas Number 1865, with Gilbert’s “The Astounding Adventure of Wheeler J. Calamity,” pp. 17-18)
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ijxKAAAAMAAJ ''London Society''], vol. 13 (1868) (three “Thumbnail Sketches” by Gilbert, pp. 50-57, 132-136, 315-319)
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ejwWAAAAYAAJ ''On the Cards: Routledge’s Christmas Annual''] (1867) (“Diamonds,” pp. 25-37, and “The Converted Clown,” pp. 137-139)
==Plays==
Selected stage works that were important to Gilbert's career or were otherwise notable, in chronological order, excluding those listed under other headings below:
* ''[[Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack]]'' (1866 [[Victorian burlesque|musical spoof]] of [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[L'elisir d'amore]]''). Gilbert's first solo success for the theatre, and the first of his five "[[Victorian burlesque|operatic burlesques]]".
* ''[[La Vivandière (Gilbert)|La Vivandière]]'' (1867), a parody of [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[La fille du régiment|La figlia del regimento]]''
* ''[[Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren]]'' (1867), a Christmas [[pantomime]].
* ''[[The Merry Zingara]]'' (1868), a parody of [[Michael Balfe]]'s ''[[The Bohemian Girl]]''
* ''[[Robert the Devil (Gilbert)|Robert the Devil]]'' (1868), a parody of [[Meyerbeer]]'s ''[[Robert le diable (opera)|Robert le diable]]''. One of Gilbert's most successful early plays, it opened the [[Gaiety Theatre, London]] and ran in the provinces for 3 years.
* ''[[The Pretty Druidess]]'' (1869), a parody of ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' – the last of Gilbert's five "operatic burlesques"
* ''[[An Old Score]]'' (1869) (rewritten as "Quits!" in 1872) Gilbert's first full-length comedy.
* ''[[The Princess (play)|The Princess]]'' (1870). Musical farce; the precursor to ''[[Princess Ida]]''.
* ''[[The Palace of Truth]]'' (1870). The first of Gilbert's [[blank verse]] "Fairy Comedies".
* ''[[Creatures of Impulse]]'' (1871), with music by [[Alberto Randegger]], based on Gilbert's 1870 short story called "A Strange Old Lady".
* ''[[Pygmalion and Galatea]]'' (1871). Gilbert's most successful work up to this time. A reinterpretation of the [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] myth in which the innocent former statue, [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], is unable to bear the cynicism and jealousies of the real world.
* ''[[Randall's Thumb]]'' (1871). A comedy that opened the [[Royal Court Theatre]].
* ''[[The Wicked World]]'' (1873). A fairy comedy about how mortal love upsets the fairy world.
* ''[[The Happy Land]]'' (1873). This work was briefly banned for its sharp satire of government ministers. It also travesties ''The Wicked World''.
* ''[[The Realm of Joy]]'' (1873). Set in the box office of a thinly-disguised ''The Happy Land'', it satirises the audience for scandalous plays and the [[Lord Chamberlain]]'s censorship of plays.
* ''[[The Wedding March (play)|The Wedding March]]'' (1873) a farce adapted from ''Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie'' by [[Eugène Marin Labiche|Eugène Labiche]]
* ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Gilbert)|Rosencrantz & Guildenstern]]'' (published 1874, performed 1891). Gilbert's burlesque of ''Hamlet''.
* ''[[Charity (play)|Charity]]'' (1874). Concerns Victorian attitudes towards sex outside of marriage. Anticipates the 1890s "problem plays" of [[George Bernard Shaw|Shaw]], [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen]].
* ''[[Sweethearts (play)|Sweethearts]]'' (1874). A drama about love revisited after 30 years.
* ''[[Tom Cobb]]'' (1875). This was possibly Gilbert's funniest farce.
* ''[[Broken Hearts]]'' (1875). The last of Gilbert's "fairy comedies", this was one of Gilbert's favourite plays.
* ''[[Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith]]'' (1876). A three-act drama that introduced antecedents of some of Gilbert's later characters.
* ''[[Engaged (play)|Engaged]]'' (1877). Probably the most famous of Gilbert's non-[[Arthur Sullivan|Sullivan]] works for the theatre.
* ''[[The Ne'er-do-Weel]]'' (1878); rewritten as "The Vagabond" after a few weeks. Friendship, sacrifice and rotating lovers: it unsuccessfully combined sentimental scenes with comedy.
* ''[[The Forty Thieves]]'' (1878). An "amateur pantomime at the Gaiety," written with three other writers, in which WSG played Harlequin.
* ''[[Gretchen (play)|Gretchen]]'' (1879). One of Gilbert's favorites – his take on the ''Faust'' legend.
* ''[[Foggerty's Fairy]]'' (1881). Gilbert's ''Back to the Future'' play.
* ''[[Brantinghame Hall]]'' (1888), a drama. Gilbert's biggest flop, it sent producer [[Rutland Barrington]] into bankruptcy.
* ''[[The Fortune Hunter]]'' (1897). Not a good play; its reception provoked WSG to announce retiring from writing for the stage.
* ''[[The Fairy's Dilemma]]'' (1904). WSG finally works out a lifelong obsession with pantomime and harlequinade.
* ''[[The Hooligan]]'' (1911). Gilbert's last play, written in a new, serious style.
==German Reed Entertainments==
Gilbert wrote six one-act musical entertainments for the [[German Reed Entertainments|German Reeds]] between 1869 and 1875. They were successful in their own right and also helped form Gilbert's mature style as a dramatist. These include:
* ''[[No Cards]]'' (1869)
* ''[[Ages Ago]]'' (1869). Gilbert's first collaboration with [[Frederic Clay]], and his first hit with the German Reeds, running for 350 performances.
* ''[[Our Island Home]]'' (1870)
* ''[[A Sensation Novel]]'' (1871)
* ''[[Happy Arcadia]]'' (1872)
* ''[[Eyes and No Eyes]]'' (1875)
==Early comic operas==
* ''[[The Gentleman in Black]]'' (1870; music by [[Frederic Clay]]). The score is lost.
* ''[[Les Brigands]]'' (1871), an English adaptation of [[Jacques Offenbach]]'s operetta.
* ''[[Topsyturveydom]]'' (1874; music by [[Alfred Cellier]]). This one-act operetta concerns a country that is the opposite of England. The score is lost.
* ''[[Princess Toto]]'' (1876; music by [[Frederic Clay]]). A three-act opera, Gilbert's last with Clay.
==The [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas==
All of these operas are full-length two-act works, except for ''Trial by Jury'', which is in one act, and ''Princess Ida'', which is three acts.
* ''[[Thespis (opera)|Thespis]]'' (1871)
* ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' (1875)
* ''[[The Sorcerer]]'' (1877)
* ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (1878)
* ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' (1879)
* ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' (1881)
* ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882)
* ''[[Princess Ida]]'' (1884)
* ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885)
* ''[[Ruddigore]]'' (1887)
* ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'' (1888)
* ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' (1889)
* ''[[Utopia, Limited]]'' (1893)
* ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' (1896)
==Later operas without Sullivan==
Though not as popular as the works with [[Arthur Sullivan]], a few of Gilbert's later works arguably have stronger plots than the last two Gilbert and Sullivan operas.<ref>See, e.g., Wolfson, pgs 64-65.</ref>
* ''[[The Mountebanks (opera)|The Mountebanks]]'' (1892; music by [[Alfred Cellier]]). This is the "lozenge plot" that Sullivan declined to set on several occasions.
* ''[[Haste to the Wedding]]'' (1892; music by [[George Grossmith]]). An unsuccessful adaptation of ''[[The Wedding March (play)|The Wedding March]]''.
* ''[[His Excellency (opera)|His Excellency]]'' (1894; with music by [[Osmond Carr]]). Gilbert felt that if Sullivan had set it, the piece would have been "another Mikado".
* ''[[Fallen Fairies]]'' (1909; music by [[Edward German]]). Gilbert's last opera, which was a failure.
==Parlour ballads==
Gilbert is known to have written lyrics for twelve [[parlour ballad]]s.<ref name=Allen74>Allen, p. 74</ref> These are:
*"The Yarn of the Nancy Bell", with music by Alfred Plumpton. One of the [[Bab Ballads]]. Published by Charles Jeffreys in 1869.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Thady O'Flynn", with music by [[James Lynam Molloy|James L. Molloy]]. Published by Boosey & Co on 7 October 1868. From ''[[No Cards]]''.<ref>Allen p. 25</ref>
*"Would You Know that Maiden Fair", with music by [[Frederic Clay]]. From ''[[Ages Ago]]''. Published by Boosey c. 1869.<ref> Allen p. 28</ref>
*"Corisande", with music by James L. Molloy. Published by Boosey on 18 June, 1870.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Eily's Reason", with music by James L. Molloy. Published by Boosey on 27 February 1871.<ref name=Allen74 />
*Three songs from ''[[A Sensation Novel]]'': "The Detective's Song", "The Tyrannical Bridegroom", and "The Jewel". Published by Hopwood & Co in 1871.<ref>Allen p. 32</ref>
*"The Distant Shore", with music by [[Arthur Sullivan]]. Published by Chappell & Co on 18 December 1874.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"The Love that Loves me Not", with music by Arthur Sullivan. Published by Novello, Ewer & Co in 1875.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Sweethearts", with music by Arthur Sullivan. Based on the [[Sweethearts (play)|play of the same name]] and used to promote it. Published by Chappell & Co in 1875.<ref>Allen, p. 41</ref>
*"Let Me Stay", with music by Walter Maynard. Published by Boosey on 13 December 1875. The same lyric was set by [[Edward German]] for ''[[Broken Hearts]]''.<ref name=Allen74 />
==See also==
*[[List of W. S. Gilbert dramatic works]]
*[[List of musical compositions by Arthur Sullivan]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{GFDL}}
This is a selected list of [[W. S. Gilbert]]'s works, including all that have their own Wikipedia articles. For a complete list of Gilbert's dramatic works, see [[List of W. S. Gilbert dramatic works]].
==Poetry==
* ''[[Bab Ballads|The Bab Ballads]]'', a collection of comic verse published roughly between 1865 and 1871.
==Selected short stories==
* ''[[Foggerty's Fairy and Other Tales]]'', a collection of short stories and essays, mainly from before 1874.
* [http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/other_gilbert/short_stories/index.htm Links to several Gilbert stories]
;Publications that include one or more of Gilbert's short stories that are not in ''Foggerty's Fairy and Other Tales'':
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=I08ZAAAAYAAJ ''Belgravia''], vol. 2 (1867). “From St. Paul’s to Piccadilly,” pp. 67-74
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=brEOAAAAQAAJ ''Fun''], vol. 1 new series (1865-1866) (several contributions by Gilbert; near end of volume, Fun Christmas Number 1865, with Gilbert’s “The Astounding Adventure of Wheeler J. Calamity,” pp. 17-18)
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ijxKAAAAMAAJ ''London Society''], vol. 13 (1868) (three “Thumbnail Sketches” by Gilbert, pp. 50-57, 132-136, 315-319)
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ejwWAAAAYAAJ ''On the Cards: Routledge’s Christmas Annual''] (1867) (“Diamonds,” pp. 25-37, and “The Converted Clown,” pp. 137-139)
==Plays==
Selected stage works that were important to Gilbert's career or were otherwise notable, in chronological order, excluding those listed under other headings below:
* ''[[Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack]]'' (1866 [[Victorian burlesque|musical spoof]] of [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[L'elisir d'amore]]''). Gilbert's first solo success for the theatre, and the first of his five "[[Victorian burlesque|operatic burlesques]]".
* ''[[La Vivandière (Gilbert)|La Vivandière]]'' (1867), a parody of [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[La fille du régiment|La figlia del regimento]]''
* ''[[Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren]]'' (1867), a Christmas [[pantomime]].
* ''[[The Merry Zingara]]'' (1868), a parody of [[Michael Balfe]]'s ''[[The Bohemian Girl]]''
* ''[[Robert the Devil (Gilbert)|Robert the Devil]]'' (1868), a parody of [[Meyerbeer]]'s ''[[Robert le diable (opera)|Robert le diable]]''. One of Gilbert's most successful early plays, it opened the [[Gaiety Theatre, London]] and ran in the provinces for 3 years.
* ''[[The Pretty Druidess]]'' (1869), a parody of ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' – the last of Gilbert's five "operatic burlesques"
* ''[[An Old Score]]'' (1869) (rewritten as "Quits!" in 1872) Gilbert's first full-length comedy.
* ''[[The Princess (play)|The Princess]]'' (1870). Musical farce; the precursor to ''[[Princess Ida]]''.
* ''[[The Palace of Truth]]'' (1870). The first of Gilbert's [[blank verse]] "Fairy Comedies".
* ''[[Creatures of Impulse]]'' (1871), with music by [[Alberto Randegger]], based on Gilbert's 1870 short story called "A Strange Old Lady".
* ''[[Pygmalion and Galatea]]'' (1871). Gilbert's most successful work up to this time. A reinterpretation of the [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] myth in which the innocent former statue, [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], is unable to bear the cynicism and jealousies of the real world.
* ''[[Randall's Thumb]]'' (1871). A comedy that opened the [[Royal Court Theatre]].
* ''[[The Wicked World]]'' (1873). A fairy comedy about how mortal love upsets the fairy world.
* ''[[The Happy Land]]'' (1873). This work was briefly banned for its sharp satire of government ministers. It also travesties ''The Wicked World''.
* ''[[The Realm of Joy]]'' (1873). Set in the box office of a thinly-disguised ''The Happy Land'', it satirises the audience for scandalous plays and the [[Lord Chamberlain]]'s censorship of plays.
* ''[[The Wedding March (play)|The Wedding March]]'' (1873) a farce adapted from ''Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie'' by [[Eugène Marin Labiche|Eugène Labiche]]
* ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Gilbert)|Rosencrantz & Guildenstern]]'' (published 1874, performed 1891). Gilbert's burlesque of ''Hamlet''.
* ''[[Charity (play)|Charity]]'' (1874). Concerns Victorian attitudes towards sex outside of marriage. Anticipates the 1890s "problem plays" of [[George Bernard Shaw|Shaw]], [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen]].
* ''[[Sweethearts (play)|Sweethearts]]'' (1874). A drama about love revisited after 30 years.
* ''[[Tom Cobb]]'' (1875). This was possibly Gilbert's funniest farce.
* ''[[Broken Hearts]]'' (1875). The last of Gilbert's "fairy comedies", this was one of Gilbert's favourite plays.
* ''[[Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith]]'' (1876). A three-act drama that introduced antecedents of some of Gilbert's later characters.
* ''[[Engaged (play)|Engaged]]'' (1877). Probably the most famous of Gilbert's non-[[Arthur Sullivan|Sullivan]] works for the theatre.
* ''[[The Ne'er-do-Weel]]'' (1878); rewritten as "The Vagabond" after a few weeks. Friendship, sacrifice and rotating lovers: it unsuccessfully combined sentimental scenes with comedy.
* ''[[The Forty Thieves]]'' (1878). An "amateur pantomime at the Gaiety," written with three other writers, in which WSG played Harlequin.
* ''[[Gretchen (play)|Gretchen]]'' (1879). One of Gilbert's favorites – his take on the ''Faust'' legend.
* ''[[Foggerty's Fairy]]'' (1881). Gilbert's ''Back to the Future'' play.
* ''[[Brantinghame Hall]]'' (1888), a drama. Gilbert's biggest flop, it sent producer [[Rutland Barrington]] into bankruptcy.
* ''[[The Fortune Hunter]]'' (1897). Not a good play; its reception provoked WSG to announce retiring from writing for the stage.
* ''[[The Fairy's Dilemma]]'' (1904). WSG finally works out a lifelong obsession with pantomime and harlequinade.
* ''[[The Hooligan]]'' (1911). Gilbert's last play, written in a new, serious style.
==German Reed Entertainments==
Gilbert wrote six one-act musical entertainments for the [[German Reed Entertainments|German Reeds]] between 1869 and 1875. They were successful in their own right and also helped form Gilbert's mature style as a dramatist. These include:
* ''[[No Cards]]'' (1869)
* ''[[Ages Ago]]'' (1869). Gilbert's first collaboration with [[Frederic Clay]], and his first hit with the German Reeds, running for 350 performances.
* ''[[Our Island Home]]'' (1870)
* ''[[A Sensation Novel]]'' (1871)
* ''[[Happy Arcadia]]'' (1872)
* ''[[Eyes and No Eyes]]'' (1875)
==Early comic operas==
* ''[[The Gentleman in Black]]'' (1870; music by [[Frederic Clay]]). The score is lost.
* ''[[Les Brigands]]'' (1871), an English adaptation of [[Jacques Offenbach]]'s operetta.
* ''[[Topsyturveydom]]'' (1874; music by [[Alfred Cellier]]). This one-act operetta concerns a country that is the opposite of England. The score is lost.
* ''[[Princess Toto]]'' (1876; music by [[Frederic Clay]]). A three-act opera, Gilbert's last with Clay.
==The [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas==
All of these operas are full-length two-act works, except for ''Trial by Jury'', which is in one act, and ''Princess Ida'', which is three acts.
* ''[[Thespis (opera)|Thespis]]'' (1871)
* ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' (1875)
* ''[[The Sorcerer]]'' (1877)
* ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (1878)
* ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' (1879)
* ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' (1881)
* ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882)
* ''[[Princess Ida]]'' (1884)
* ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885)
* ''[[Ruddigore]]'' (1887)
* ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'' (1888)
* ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' (1889)
* ''[[Utopia, Limited]]'' (1893)
* ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' (1896)
==Later operas without Sullivan==
Though not as popular as the works with [[Arthur Sullivan]], a few of Gilbert's later works arguably have stronger plots than the last two Gilbert and Sullivan operas.<ref>See, e.g., Wolfson, pgs 64-65.</ref>
* ''[[The Mountebanks (opera)|The Mountebanks]]'' (1892; music by [[Alfred Cellier]]). This is the "lozenge plot" that Sullivan declined to set on several occasions.
* ''[[Haste to the Wedding]]'' (1892; music by [[George Grossmith]]). An unsuccessful adaptation of ''[[The Wedding March (play)|The Wedding March]]''.
* ''[[His Excellency (opera)|His Excellency]]'' (1894; with music by [[Osmond Carr]]). Gilbert felt that if Sullivan had set it, the piece would have been "another Mikado".
* ''[[Fallen Fairies]]'' (1909; music by [[Edward German]]). Gilbert's last opera, which was a failure.
==Parlour ballads==
Gilbert is known to have written lyrics for twelve [[parlour ballad]]s.<ref name=Allen74>Allen, p. 74</ref> These are:
*"The Yarn of the Nancy Bell", with music by Alfred Plumpton. One of the [[Bab Ballads]]. Published by Charles Jeffreys in 1869.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Thady O'Flynn", with music by [[James Lynam Molloy|James L. Molloy]]. Published by Boosey & Co on 7 October 1868. From ''[[No Cards]]''.<ref>Allen p. 25</ref>
*"Would You Know that Maiden Fair", with music by [[Frederic Clay]]. From ''[[Ages Ago]]''. Published by Boosey c. 1869.<ref> Allen p. 28</ref>
*"Corisande", with music by James L. Molloy. Published by Boosey on 18 June, 1870.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Eily's Reason", with music by James L. Molloy. Published by Boosey on 27 February 1871.<ref name=Allen74 />
*Three songs from ''[[A Sensation Novel]]'': "The Detective's Song", "The Tyrannical Bridegroom", and "The Jewel". Published by Hopwood & Co in 1871.<ref>Allen p. 32</ref>
*"The Distant Shore", with music by [[Arthur Sullivan]]. Published by Chappell & Co on 18 December 1874.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"The Love that Loves me Not", with music by Arthur Sullivan. Published by Novello, Ewer & Co in 1875.<ref name=Allen74 />
*"Sweethearts", with music by Arthur Sullivan. Based on the [[Sweethearts (play)|play of the same name]] and used to promote it. Published by Chappell & Co in 1875.<ref>Allen, p. 41</ref>
*"Let Me Stay", with music by Walter Maynard. Published by Boosey on 13 December 1875. The same lyric was set by [[Edward German]] for ''[[Broken Hearts]]''.<ref name=Allen74 />
==See also==
*[[List of W. S. Gilbert dramatic works]]
*[[List of musical compositions by Arthur Sullivan]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{GFDL}}