 After a number of broad comedies, farces and burlesques, he wrote a series of short comic operas for the German-Reeds at the Gallery of Illustration.At the same time, he created several 'fairy comedies' at the Haymarket Theatre, including "The Palace of Truth" (1870) and "Pygmalion and Galatea" (1871).These works, as well as another series of plays that included "The Wicked World" (1873), "Sweethearts", "Charity" (1874), and "Broken Hearts" (1875), established that Gilbert's capabilities extended far beyond burlesque, won him artistic credentials, and demonstrated that he was a writer of wide range, as comfortable with human drama as with farcical humour.