Book Description

Victorian playwright E. L. Blanchard was a prolific writer of farces, dramas, and musical burlesques whom his contemporaries hailed as "one of the most versatile men that English literature has ever produced." His plays were performed by the leading theatres of his era. Starting in 1852 and for the next 37 consecutive years, he wrote the annual Grand Christmas Pantomime for London's Drury Lane Theatre. Throughout those years he redefined the nature of pantomime and created many of the traditions that are used in today's pantos. Collected in this volume are the complete librettos of Blanchard's most popular pantomimes from the years 1861 to 1878.