Here you will find links to online versions of books about Gilbert and Sullivan and related topics. Many of the books have been out of print for many years, and copies are difficult, not to say expensive, to find in second hand book shops.

We hope you will enjoy browsing here.

I. Story Books by Gilbert

• GILBERT, W. S. The Story of H.M.S. Pinafore. G.Bell & Sons, Ltd. London. 1913

II. The Gilbert and Sullivan Operas

• WALBROOK, H. M. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, A History and Comment. F. V. White & Co. Ltd. London. 1922.

III. Reminiscences of Performers

• BARRINGTON, Rutland. Rutland Barrington: a record of thirty-five years’ experience on the English stage. Grant Richards, 1908.
• BARRINGTON, Rutland. More Rutland Barrington. By himself. Grant Richards: London, 1911.
• GROSSMITH, George. A Society Clown. Arrowsmith (J. W.) Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library. Vol. XXXI. 1888.
• LYTTON, Henry A. The Secrets of a Savoyard. Jarrold. 1922.
• MACGEORGE, Ethel. The Life and Reminiscences of Jessie Bond, the old Savoyard, as told by herself to E. Macgeorge. John Lane: London, 1930.
• THORNE, George. Jots. Arrowsmith (J. W.) Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library. Vol. LXXVI. 1897. [PDF, 20MB]
• HARMAN, Lindsay. A Comic Opera Life

IV. Harry Benford’s Lexicon at GSOpera

V. Books at the Internet Archive

To download PDFs from Google Books, use the pull-down menu at upper right (this will work in the US but may or may not work elsewhere).

• ADAIR-FITZGERALD, S. J. The Story of the Savoy Opera. London: Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd., 1924.
• BROWN, Edith A. W. S. Gilbert. Bodley Head, London, 1907.
• CARR, Joseph Comyns. Some Eminent Victorians: Personal Recollections in the World of Art and Letters (1908; reminiscences of Sullivan on pp. 284ff)
• CELLIER, François; BRIDGEMAN, Cunningham. Gilbert and Sullivan and their operas; with recollections and anecdotes of D’Oyly Carte & other famous Savoyards Little & Brown, Boston, 1914.
• DARK, Sidney; GREY, Rowland. W. S. Gilbert, His Life and Letters. Methuen & Co., 1923.
• FINDON, B. W. Sir Arthur Sullivan : his life and music London, 1904.
• FITZGERALD, Percy. The Savoy Opera and the Savoyards. London: Chatto & Windus, 1899
• GILBERT, W. S. A Stage Play New York, 1916.
• GILBERT, W. S. Foggerty’s Fairy. George Routledge & Sons, London, 1890
• GILBERT, W. S. Savoy Operas, illustrations by Russell Flint. Savoy Operas. London: George Bell & Sons, 1909. (new foreword by WSG)
• GILBERT, W. S. The Story of The Mikado. Daniel O’Connor, London, 1921.
• GOLDBERG, Isaac. Sir Wm. S. Gilbert; a study in modern satire; a handbook on Gilbert and the Gilbert-Sullivan operas. Stratford Publishing Co., Boston, 1913
• HARKER, Joseph. Studio and Stage. London: Nisbet & Co. Ltd., 1934. (Chtr 6, pp 83-91, “The Gilbert Cycle”)
• HELYAR, James. ed. Gilbert and Sullivan: Papers Presented at the International Conference held at the University of Kansas in May 1970. University of Kansas Libraries, 1971.
• HUGES, Gervase. The Music of Arthur Sullivan, New York, 1960
• LANDAUER, Bella Clara. Gilbert and Sullivan Influence on American Tradecards. New York: (privately printed] 1936. (Hathi Trust allows you to read the entire book but you can apparently only download a page at a time)
• LAWRENCE, Arthur. Sir Arthur Sullivan; life story, letters, and reminiscences. Chicago & New York, 1890
• SIMCOE, H. Augustine. Sullivan v. Critic; or Practice v. Theory, a Study in Press Phenomena (1906)
• SULLIVAN, Herbert; FLOWER, Newman. *Sir Arthur Sullivan: His Life, Letters & Diaries. New York: Doran, 1927.
• WELLS, Walter J. Souvenir of Sir Arthur Sullivan, MUS. DOC., M. V. O. A brief sketch of his life & works London, 1901.
• WYNDHAM, Henry Saxe; FORD, Ernest. Sir Arthur Sullivan, George Bell, 1903