A Book of Burlesque: Sketches of English Stage Travestie and Parody

A witty assault on literary pretension, this 1891 study traces English burlesque from its roots in pre-Shakespearean drama through the Victorian stage. William Davenport Adams examines how comic writers weaponized parody and travestie against the grand traditions of English theater, turning solemn tragedies into farcical entertainments and lofty opera into saucy satire. Rather than offering a dry comprehensive history, Adams presents a series of sharp sketches focusing on specific works and playwrights who shaped the genre. The book reveals burlesque as more than low comedy: it was a form of cultural rebellion, a way for writers to puncture pomposity while showcasing remarkable verbal dexterity. Adams traces how the form evolved from broad physical humor into something more sophisticated, eventually becoming the Victorian musical comedy that scandalized and delighted audiences. For anyone curious about where modern satire and comic theater came from, this is an indispensable guide to one of English literature's most irreverent traditions.