William Tell Told Again is a retelling of the William Tell legend in prose and verse with illustrations. The main prose element was written by P. G. Wodehouse, while Philip Dadd supplied the frontispiece and 15 full-page illustrations, all in colour. The 15 illustrations were each accompanied by a verse written by John W. Houghton, who also wrote the prologue and epilogue in verse. The book was published on 11 November 1904 by Adam & Charles Black, London, and was dedicated "to Biddy O'Sullivan for a Christmas present". Wodehouse dedicated books to 43 different people; "Biddy O'Sullivan" was the last to be traced. Her identity was not known until 2006, when she was identified as the young daughter of Denis O'Sullivan (1869–1908), an actor and singer who was a friend of Wodehouse in the early 1900s. Plot The title of the book comes from its prologue, which is told in verse (by John W. Houghton): T Swiss, against their Austrian foes, Had ne'er a soul to lead 'em, Till Tell, as you've heard tell, arose And guided them to freedom. Tell's tale we tell again—an act For which pray no one scold us— This tale of Tell we tell, in fact, As this Tell tale was told us. The story is said to take place many years ago. Switzerland is under the control of the Emperor of Austria, who has his friend Hermann Gessler govern the country. Gessler is a tyrannical Governor and imposes excessive taxes on the Swiss people. The people of Switzerland send three representatives – Walter Fürst, Werner Staufacher, and Arnold of Melchthal – to Gessler's Hall of Audience to complain about the taxes. Gessler refuses to change the taxes and uses the threat of boiling oil (demonstrated on the tip of Arnold of Melchtha's finger, for which he is charged a fee) to make the three men leave the Hall. The townspeople decide to rebel, and to ask William Tell to be their leader. Tell is brave, patriotic, and skilled with the crossbow. The three representatives go to Tell's house. Tell lives with his wife Hedwig, who is the daughter of Walter Fürst, and their sons Walter and William. Tell is not much of an orator and is reluctant to be a leader, but he agrees to help if they need anything done. Gessler enjoys annoying the Swiss by forbidding things, but having banned games, dancing,