W. S. GILBERT SOCIETY HOMEPAGE

updated July 2008

  • Life of Gilbert
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  • Dramatic Works
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  • Other Works
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  • Contents List of Journal Articles
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  • Forthcoming Gilbert events, new books, etc.
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    Gilbert as HarlequinWilliam Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) was one of the most original dramatists of the nineteenth century. He is best known today for having been the "words man" behind the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, but, while this was indeed his greatest achievement, it was far from being his only achievement. Much of his work remains practically unknown today, and even his best-known works such as The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance are rarely considered worth serious study.

    The W.S. Gilbert Society was formed in 1985 to further the knowledge, study, appreciation and enjoyment of Gilbert's life and works. It publishes a Journal in which historical, theatrical, literary and other issues of Gilbertian interest are debated.

    At present, the Society is being run by a small group consisting of:

    Mike Leigh (Hon President)

    John Balls (Chairman)
    Andrew Crowther (Secretary)
    J. Derrick McClure (Editor)
    Brian Jones

    To join the W.S. Gilbert Society, please contact the Hon. Secretary Andrew Crowther at:

    5 Undercliffe Old Road
    Bradford BD2 4RQ,
    United Kingdom.

    His e-mail address is: ajcrowth@ukonline.co.uk

    		 With great sadness I must announce that Charles Pemberton, actor and magician, died on 13 May 2007. For many years he toured the country with his one-man show about Gilbert, A Disagreeable Man? He was a good man.
    Click for details of "A Disagreeable Man"

    All comments and queries about this website should also be made to the same address.

    The annual UK subscription is 8 pounds. For overseas air-mail it is 12 pounds. If possible, please send the money by sterling cheque or international money order. All cheques should be made payable to the W.S. Gilbert Society. Cheques may be accepted in non-UK currency with an extra conversion fee of five pounds: please contact Andrew Crowther at the email address below to negotiate the exact sum in your own currency.

    Back issues of the W.S. Gilbert Society Journal may be ordered for 3.00 pounds each (UK) or 4.00 each (non-UK).

    There are many Internet resources relating to Gilbert and Sullivan. The ideal starting-point, however, is The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive.

    An excellent on-line exhibition of Gilbert and Sullivan materials from the collection of Hal Kanthor, entitled "Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America", is viewable at: http://www.library.rochester.edu/rbk/exhibits/gs

    If you have any comments or queries about this website, please contact me (Andrew Crowther) at: ajcrowth@ukonline.co.uk

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