Before he achieved fame as the librettist of comic operas like Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore, W.S. Gilbert was known for his witty and irreverent verse. The Bab Ballads are a collection of some of his earliest published work, featuring comical and absurd situations, wordplay, and satire. The book includes such memorable pieces as 'The Yarn of the Nancy Bell', a macabre tale of shipwreck and cannibalism, and 'The Sorcerer's Song', a droll...