Fifty “Bab” Ballads

Captain Reece keeps his sailors in hot slippers, feeds them cream ices, and asks what else might make them happy. Their answer turns his family—and his duty—into a matrimonial matter.

In W. S. Gilbert’s 1876 collection, good manners and solemn principles are forever being marched into absurd situations. A mild curate is goaded into a contest of gentleness; a troubadour sets out to rescue a prisoner, only to discover what sort of “castle” he has reached. Across these comic ballads, pompous virtue, social respectability, and romantic heroics meet a world that refuses to behave as expected. How far can a promise, a disguise, or a perfectly serious face carry a ridiculous idea?

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