Gilbert's libretti of the comic operas composed by Arthur Sullivan are hugely well known, and lines such as "let the punishment fit the crime" have entered the English lexicon - but his short stories also deserve to be rediscovered by the modern reader. This collection, carefully curated by the secretary of the W.S. Gilbert Society, brings together the best of these sharp, clever, comical tales - many of which are published here for the first time since their first appearance in ephemeral magazines - enriched with the author's own illustrations. The stories feature many of the powerful motifs so associated with his work - fairies, elixirs, magic - and a wide variety of characters - from burglars to barristers and shopkeepers to gentlemen.