In February 1860 Burnand had his first piece performed in the West End, "Dido the Celebrated Widow", a musical burlesque of "Dido and Aeneas", played at the St James's Theatre. The following month he married an actress, Cecilia Victoria Ranoe (1841–1870), daughter of James Ranoe, a clerk; the couple had five sons and two daughters. He was called to the bar in 1862, and practised for a short time, but his main interest was in writing. In the early 1860s, he edited the short-lived journal "The Glow-Worm" and then joined the staff of "Fun", edited by H. J. Byron. He parted company with Byron when the magazine rejected his proposed 1863 literary burlesque of a Reynolds serial, entitled "Mokeanna, or the White Witness". He showed his manuscript to Mark Lemon, editor of "Punch", who accepted it for publication; Burnand remained a "Punch" writer for the rest of his career.