Gilbert and Sullivan well, and on 13 May 1883, at a party to celebrate the composer's 41st birthday, the guests, including the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), heard a direct relay of parts of "Iolanthe" from the Savoy. This was probably the first live "broadcast" of an opera. During the run of "Iolanthe", in 1883, Sullivan was knighted by Queen Victoria. Although it was the operas with Gilbert that had earned him the broadest fame, the honour was conferred for his services to serious music. The musical establishment, and many critics, believed that this should put an end to his career as
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan in the comic book superhero series "The Question", by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan. He dons a Japanese mask and kills malefactors in appropriate ways – letting "the punishment fit the crime". A humorous illustrated booklet, "A Parody on Iolanthe", was written and published by D. Dalziel in 1883 and concerns the Chicago & Alton Railway. There are many children's books retelling the stories of the operas, or stories about the history of the famous partnership, including two by Gilbert himself. There are also children's biographies or fictionalisations about the lives of the two men or the relationship between the