I really enjoyed reading The Holy Kingdom and although I'd be interested to read more about Prince Madoc in America this book acts as a great introduction to the work of Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett's Ancient British Historical Project.

I am heartened that the Holy Kingdom is now available in the USA; this project is of immense significance and if we are to flesh out the history of Madoc and Arthur in America in the sixth Century then we need to know where we're coming from...

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It does indeed seem as if Adrian Gilbert caught on to Wilson and Blackett rather late and had an editorial role, whereas they have done all the meaningful research.

Let's hope this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the publishers and these British historians. Rich in detail, racy in its commentary and sober in its reflection, The Holy Kingdom takes you to the sites of every relevant King Arthur story and even provides a twist in the tale in its debunking of the current Glastonbury hoax...

This is a great book, in so many ways...

Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett have been studying the real history of the two King Arthurs for over 40 years and their research is based only upon hard fact. Their work allows you to access every manuscript, visit every historic site and touch every stone and artefact.

Adrian Gilbert simply wrote up their voluminous research and put it into a more reader friendly style, for which we should be grateful.

No wonder the academics are scared of Wilson and Blackett. By using the ancient British (in the Welsh and Latin language) manuscripts they have been able to conclusively prove the existence of two King Arthurs, the reality of an early Christian church in Wales that predates St. Augustine (597) and, for example, that Southern Wales was the scene for Arthur 2nd's famous battle at Baedan (Mynydd Baedan). Note that modern Ordnance Survey maps omit many of the real and important historical sites. This happened as a result of the authors initial research.

Wilson and Blackett's research shows the deliberate and malicious misdating of ancient monuments and stones by supposed "experts" at the University of Wales, CADW and the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaelogical Trust Ltd, all of whom combined from the early 1980s to shut down the historians' project. Happily, with our full support, they soldier on in true Arthurian style!

The truth has always been that they are 100% correct in their conclusions and even Gilbert, ever the skeptic, has had to admit as much. Hence his late involvement in the Ancient British historical project.

Against the background of political intrigue and state-funded hostility to their work, many of us are eternally grateful that we will be able to pass on the true history of these lands and our people onto our children. We will be able to take them to see places in Wales and the West Midlands and stand in awe at sites where British history was made.

Latterly, we have begun to understand the migration histories of the Khumry-Welsh (wrongly spelled Cymry) who descended from Brutus. The reality of this "invisible kingdom", stretching from Wales through Europe to the middle East, is a remarkable story that logically follows from this important book.

Go out and BUY this book - it'll change your perception and you'll overdose on truth!

A vital book.

The smear of misread manuscripts is not new and one that various powerful interests have tried through the ages. Anhun, or Annhun Nigri, was indeed Arthur lst as the whole picture presented by an understanding of the interlocking Welsh genealogies shows.

Blackett and Wilson have stuck to the ancient record and tried to understand how one Arthur figure could have battled and beaten the Romans at Soissy in 383 and also defeated the Saxons circa 560. Obviously there were two men!

Annhun's story is the same at that of Arthur 1st, whose burial stone Blackett and Wilson discovered several years ago near Atherstone (Arthr's Twyn, or Arthur's burial site?) in the West Midland, within the Old Bury ancient site founded circa 250 AD as the record states. The legend on the stone read Artorius - in other words Arthur. The site is at the heart of an old Welsh kingdom where experts in place names like Margaret Gelling have clearly said "English and Welsh lived together".

Hence we should not be surprised that during a period of Welsh dominance, mistakenly described as the "latter period of Roman domination" (there was no such thing), Welsh place names, burial sites and other artefacts should be discovered in the modern West Midlands within the ancient bishopric of Lichfield.

So Annhun, who died circa 388 and who was a direct descendent of Arthur/Arthwys ll ap Meurig ap Tewdrig, was indeed a vitally important figure within the Khumric dynasty and whose authenticity is not in doubt. We now know that it was Arthur, specifically, due to the discovery of the stone and evidence presented very clearly, and unambiguously, in The Holy Kingdom.

You do not need to rely simply upon one manuscript with Blackett and Wilson; all references are stated and given in copious detail in The Holy Kingdom and are available to see. All Welsh historians dating back to at least 1760 (I have the books here) and back into the 1500s, moreover, (haven't got them!) stated that Arthur was a Welsh king. Their work was based upon manuscript research; many of the authors were theological types based at Oxford University.

Wilson and Blackett have allowed the past to speak and for an Arthurian "renaissance" to take place. They, it turns out, have led this new movement based on ancient and unimpeachable evidence.

This is a massively important book and one that I can only highly recommend. As a Welshman, and welsh speaker, living in Louisville, Kentucky, I understand the issues, the reasons for attacks on the author's work and the powerful interests that would rather this all just went away.

So please purchase the Holy Kingdom from amazon.com today!

Back in prehistoric times when records were brittle things and only came in one speed, 78 RPM's, one of my mother's favorite albums was "H.M.S. Pinafore." She played it frequently. Too young to understand the satire, I was attracted by the catchy music. I loved to hear the captain sing "I am the Captain of the Pinafore," immediately followed by the response of the chorus. This plus "Poor Little Buttercup" and "The Ruler of the Queen's Navee" made a fan of me for life.

Several years later, and after having attended performances of several of these comic operas, I began to read Gilbert's lyrics. I must confess that I got much greater enjoyment out of reading lyrics that were from Gilbert and Sullivan performances that I had attended. I think that must be because neither the words nor the music are nearly as enjoyable in the absence of the other.

I have read that Gilbert and Sullivan had a very stormy relationship. I'm glad that they managed to work together as often as they did because they really complemented one another. What they accomplished as a team speaks for itself in the continued performance of so many of their works over a hundred years after they were first performed.

I have an older hardback of THE COMPLETE PLAYS and I found some humor in the following which may have been corrected in later copies. The book starts off with Chronological Biographies of each man. In Gilbert's it states< "first meeting with Arthur Sullivan autumn of 1870." In Sullivan's we find the following. "Met W. S. Gilbert 1871." Something metaphysical afoot perhaps.

In summary, in my opinion, the works in this book, while certainly enjoyable reading, were really meant to be performed in order to give maximum enjoyment. Others may very well disagree with this opinion and I see nothing wrong with that.

This book is full of musical plays and the scripts are worded well for possible performance. The only problem is that the sheet music is missing and from experience it is a headache to find but other than that it is a good book that stimulates the imagination.

Just so you know before you buy, this is only the chorus book. It includes only songs where one of the chorus' (pirates, daughters, or police) is singing. No solos or smaller numbers are included and neither is the script.

We're staging a production of "Pirates" in April 2002, and we have two editions of this score by G. Schirmer. The cheaper one is for the chorus, and has just the choral passages. The more expensive one (listed here) has the complete vocal music and dialogue.

I have seen both, and would rate them at five stars except that the original page plates are a little dirty, introducing some confusing dots and spots.

I'm not sure what an earlier reviewer is saying about this score not having the solo stuff. This book has the complete score and dialoge. I've used it for two productions of POP and it is missing nothing.
Unless this is a different edition than the one I have..but it has the exact same cover and credits so I doubt it.

I enjoy the way that Gilbert chronicles Jewish history through maps. I found at least one error in his maps, however -- and one of the more recent maps at that -- which makes me question the accuracy of the entire work. The 1947 Partition Plan Map of Palestine, partitioning Palestine into 2 separate countries -- a Jewish state (Israel) and an Arab state (Palestine) -- is blatantly incorrect. While Beersheva is part of present-day Israel, it is improperly reported to be part of the Jewish partition in this book. In fact, all of the area surrounding Beersheva was part of the Arab partition in the UN Resolution. Similarly, the Arabs were also given a larger chunk in Gaza than what is depicted here. Martin seems to take the outcome of the Arab war -- what Jordan and Egypt were able to wrest and occupy (and incidentally, not give to the Palestinians) -- essentially though not exactly the Green Line map of 1949 -- and represent that land as what was suggested in the UN Partition Plan. In my view, this is a serious shortcoming, especially in light of the events surrounding the present peace process and the history leading up to it.

The author of this book chronicles and displays the Jewish history beautifully in this atlas.

Well researched, the book would make an excellent companion on a walking tour of London. The author knows what buildings are still standing from Gilbert and Sullivan's world, which have been demolished, and which have changed. Gives great descriptions of the theaters, including the Savoy, where the productions were staged, and so forth.

If I have a criticism of the book, it is laid out geographically -- so you might be discussing Gilbert in 1876 at one minute and Arthur Sullivan in 1885 at another, because that is where the next building on the street leads you. The continuity suffers a little because of this.

But if you know a Gilbert and Sullivan fan who is making a pilgrimage to London, this is the perfect book for them.

This is a marvelous book. This is a charming account of the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan (both individually and as collaborators) with London. The author Andrew Goodman (who really knows his stuff) organized this enormous treasure-trove of information by neighborhood. The book gets off to a strong start by reviewing how London developed-it impressed me how much London is a Victorian city, with many famous neighborhoods were all but farmland in the early 19th century. This book is meant not only for lovers of G&S but lovers of London and good travel writing as well.

This book is okay if you're into community theatre, but I found that it consists mostly of cutsie little stories about their most cherished performers, who have long since left the stage. This group would do better to publish a book that summarizes their G&S style rather than focus on their "accomplishments" and nothing else.

A very interesting look at a musical theater company. Would that more cities had groups like the Lamplighters.

This book was not very interesting. It started off with Margaret Cooper, the main character getting married. She wrote a letter to her friend Tom Cribbins, saying she wanted a divorce from her husband to be free like him. Margaret threw away the letter, but didn't know that her housekeeper had picked it up. Within a week, Margaret's husband died. Margaret was blamed and Etta, her housekeeper, went against Margaret saying Margaret did it. She went on trial and was found innocent. Margaret moved out to a house flat where she could live in piece. Her attorney, Aubrey Fielding, came to visit Margaret one day and they hit it off. After 2 months, they got married. That was when Margaret received a blackmail letter. It said arrive at a place so she went. It was Etta blackmailng her. That went on through the whole book. Margaret then went to Arthur Crook complaining about the blackmail and being accused of murdering her husband. Mr. Crook said all they had to do was wait. Murder was a waiting game. So Margaret waited, until she visited Etta again, saw the conversation being recorded, and smashed the recorder. Etta's husband then came and saw Margaret saying Etta was dead. Arthur was also hit and injured being pushed down a flight of stairs. Through the rest of the book, Etta's husband blackmailed Margaret and Arthur was frantically figuring it out. This book was not that interesting. I only gave it 2 stars. I would only recommend this book to people who follow long murder's with no action.