It is after dinner on a January night, in the library in Lady Britomart Undershaft's house in Wilton Crescent. A large and comfortable settee is in the middle of the room, upholstered in dark leather. A person sitting on it [it is vacant at present] would have, on his right, Lady Britomart's writing table, with the lady herself busy at it; a smaller writing table behind him on his left; the door behind him on Lady Britomart's side; and a window with a window seat directly on his left. Near...

"Pygmalion" tells the story of Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics expert, who makes a bet with his colleague Colonel Pickering that he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a working-class flower seller with a strong Cockney accent, into a refined and well-spoken lady. The play explores themes of social class, identity, and the power of language.As Professor Higgins teaches Eliza how to speak, dress, and behave like a lady, he attempts to mold her into the image of his idea of a "perfect" woman...

George Bernard Shaw created pioneering dramas that probed prevailing social problems with a vein of comedy that made their stark themes more palatable, while striving to make the world aware of the exploitation of the working classes. For the first time in digital publishing, this comprehensive eBook presents the complete fictional works of George Bernard Shaw, with every play, novel and short story, as well as featuring numerous illustrations, many rare texts, informative introductions an...

Heartbreak House is not merely the name of the play which follows this preface. It is cultured, leisured Europe before the war. When the play was begun not a shot had been fired; and only the professional diplomatists and the very few amateurs whose hobby is foreign policy even knew that the guns were loaded. A Russian playwright, Tchekov, had produced four fascinating dramatic studies of Heartbreak House, of which three, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, and The Seagull, had been performed...

"Plays Pleasant" is a collection of four plays by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1898: Arms and the Man; Candida; The Man of Destiny; and, You Never Can Tell.One of Bernard Shaw’s most glittering comedies, Arms and the Man is a burlesque of Victorian attitudes to heroism, war and empire. In the contrast between Bluntschli, the mercenary soldier, and the brave leader, Sergius, the true nature of valour is revealed.Shaw mocks deluded idealis...

The story centers around the character of Sidney Trefusis, a young aristocrat who is critical of the existing social and economic systems of Victorian England. Sidney is a self-proclaimed socialist who seeks to challenge the status quo and promote radical social reform. However, he is unconventional in his approach, and his ideas often put him at odds with both the establishment and his fellow socialists.As the novel unfolds, Sidney's views on socialism, feminism, and individualism are exp...

Illustrated Edition: This version of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" comes with 20 beautiful illustrations, enhancing the reading experience and bringing the story's iconic scenes to life.Includes a Detailed Summary: Dive into the heart of Shaw's masterpiece with an insightful summary that captures the essence and wit of the original work.Comprehensive Characters List: Get acquainted with the vibrant cast of cha...

The Devil's Disciple George Bernard Shaw - The Devil's Disciple is an 1897 play written by Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's eighth, and after Richard Mansfield's original 1897 American production it was his first financial success, which helped to affirm his career as a playwright. It was published in Shaw's 1901 collection Three Plays for Puritans together with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and Caesar and Cleopatra. Set in Colonial America during the Revolutionary...

Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid, in Latin: Arma virumque cano ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Avenue Theatre and published in 1898 as part of Shaw's Plays Pleasant volume, which also included Candida, You Never Can Tell, and The Man of Destiny. Arms and the Man was one of Shaw's first commercial successes. He was called onto stage after the curtain, where he ...

Man and Superman is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme.[1] Man and Superman opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 May 1905, but it omitted the third act.[2] A part of the act, Don Juan in Hell (Act 3, Scene 2), was performed when the drama was staged on 4 June 1907 at the Royal Court. The play was not performed in its entirety until 1915, when the Travelling R...

“The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They cannot spell it because they have nothing to spell it with but an old foreign alphabet of which only the consonants – and not all of them – have any agreed speech value.After a chance meeting with fellow linguist Colonel Pickering, phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can pass off a Cockney flower seller as a duchess, simply by changing how she speaks. However, Eliz...

In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion a phonetician believes the power of speech is such that he can introduce a Cockney flower girl to polite society after careful language and etiquette training, and no one will discern her true roots. The professor and the flower girl grown close, but after her successful debut she rejects the professor and his overbearing ways for a poor gentleman.