The Disagreeable Man


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

LibriVox volunteers bring you 26 recordings of The Disagreeable Man by Sir W. S. Gilbert. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for June 10, 2012.

The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert developed his unique "topsy-turvy" style, where the humour was derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. The Ballads also reveal Gilbert's cynical and satirical approach to humour. They became famous on their own, as well as being a source for plot elements, characters and songs that Gilbert would recycle in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The Bab Ballads take their name from Gilbert's childhood nickname, and he later began to sign his illustrations "Bab".

Nothing else quite like the Ballads has ever been produced in the English language. They contain both satire and nonsense, as well as a great deal of utter absurdity. The Ballads were read aloud at private dinner-parties, public banquets and even in the House of Lords. The ballads have been much published, and there are even recordings of readings of some of them. ( Summary by Wikipedia ) (0 hr 54 min)

Chapters

The Disagreeable Man - Read by AG 2:01 Read by April Gonzales
The Disagreeable Man - Read by ALP 2:11 Read by Algy Pug
The Disagreeable Man - Read by AS 1:48 Read by acousticwave
The Disagreeable Man - Read by CC 2:22 Read by Chris Caron
The Disagreeable Man - Read by CMP 2:30 Read by CaprishaPage
The Disagreeable Man - Read by DF 1:51 Read by Daniel Frosh
The Disagreeable Man - Read by EEP 2:17 Read by Ernst Pattynama
The Disagreeable Man - Read by EZWA 1:51 Read by Ezwa
The Disagreeable Man - Sung by EZWA 2:22 Read by Ezwa
The Disagreeable Man - Read by FS 2:27 Read by fshort
The Disagreeable Man - Read by JCM 1:50 Read by Jason Mills
The Disagreeable Man - Read by JD 1:53 Read by Jack Daniel
The Disagreeable Man - Read by JM2 2:02 Read by Jannie Meisberger
The Disagreeable Man - Read by JN 1:37 Read by Julia Niedermaier
The Disagreeable Man - Read by KLN 1:34 Read by Kirsten Nelson
The Disagreeable Man - Read by LAH 1:51 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
The Disagreeable Man - Read by LLW 2:28 Read by Leonard Wilson (1930-2024)
The Disagreeable Man - Read by MFS 2:21 Read by Mark F. Smith
The Disagreeable Man - Read by MG 2:46 Read by Martin Geeson
The Disagreeable Man - Read by MP 1:45 Read by Mateo Palfreman
The Disagreeable Man - Read by PJW 1:45 Read by Patrick Wallace
The Disagreeable Man - Read by RN 2:43 Read by ravenotation
The Disagreeable Man - Read by RPB 1:58 Read by Rafael Phoenix Blayze
The Disagreeable Man - Read by RWH 1:58 Read by Robert Hoffman
The Disagreeable Man - Read by UM 2:00 Read by ekzemplaro
The Disagreeable Man - Read by WT 1:54 Read by Winston Tharp