Nicoll's History, which tells the story of English drama from the reopening of the theatres at the time of the Restoration right through to the end of the Victorian period, was viewed by Notes and Queries (1952) as 'a great work of exploration, a detailed guide to the untrodden acres of our dramatic history, hitherto largely ignored as barren and devoid of interest'.

Sung closely examines William Blake’s extant engraved copper plates and arrives at a new interpretation of his working process. Sung suggests that Blake revised and corrected his work more than was previously thought. This belies the Romantic ideal that the acts of conception and execution are simultaneous in the creative process.