In this biting satire of the Royal Navy, Gilbert and Sullivan have written one of their warmest and liveliest operas. In most tuneful melodies and hilarious lyrics they tell of the Admiral who had never been to sea; of his sisters and his cousins and his aunts; of the Captain who was "hardly ever" sick at sea; of his lovely daughter Josephine and the lowly seaman whom she loved.

Delightful illustrations in color and black and white, lively narrative interspersed with the most famous melodies capture the very spirit of the original Gilbert and Sullivan play.

From the book