They simply did not get along. The trigger-tempered Gilbert, with his razor tongue and steady work habits, couldn't understand Sullivan's amiable procrastinations and easy social successes. Sullivan was convinced that his real genius was expressed by his prestigious music. Yet success after success forced the team to stay together for fifteen glorious years, under the aegis of the polished Richard D'Oyly Carte. Then the whole thing blew up in a tragicomic quarrel about a carpet.
Fictional romances exhibit no more posh settings, beautiful women, and crackling argument.
There's even a touch of royalty, and a few absurdities, as well as a tragic climax. This text of this book is much like other books on the topic, but the pictures are where it really shines. For example, here we see Gilbert at work on a script, not hunched over a desk as in the film Topsy-Turvy, but relaxing in an easy chair with his feet up. There are also photos from the Japan Exhibition in Knightsbridge and of the actors in the original Mikado staging. 470 pages including notes, appendices bibliography and index.