Annoted Cover 2010-full-correct spine.indd - Penguin Group

GeorGe berNard shaw
1856 – 1950, irish
nobel prize winner
THE BERNARD SHAW LIBRARY
The definitive texts, under the editorial
supervision of Dan H. Laurence
Arms and the Man
Introduction by Rodelle Weintraub
Arms and the Man, optimistic, farcical,
absurd, and teeming with sexual energy,
has Shaw inverting the devices of
melodrama to glorious effect.
112 pp. 978-0-14-303976-1 $10.00
Caesar and Cleopatra
Introduction by Stanley Weintraub
Caesar and Cleopatra satirizes
Shakespeare’s use of history and
comments wryly on the politics of
Shaw’s own time, but the undertone of
melancholy makes it one of his most
affecting plays.
176 pp. 978-0-14-303977-8 $11.00
Candida
Introduction by Peter Gahan
Candida centers on a romantic triangle
and parodies courtly love and the
domestic drama of Ibsen. It abounds
with classical allusions, the fervor of a
religious revival, and poetic inspiration
and aspirations.
112 pp. 978-0-14-303978-5 $9.00
214 penguin classics
Heartbreak House
Introduction by David Hare
Shaw’s favorite play, Heartbreak House
is a comedy of manners that takes a
probing look at the conflict between “oldfashioned”
idealism and the realities of the
modern age.
176 pp. 978-0-14-043787-4 $11.00
Major Barbara
Introduction by Margery Morgan
In this sparkling comedy, Andrew
Undershaft, a millionaire armaments
dealer, loves money and despises poverty.
His energetic daughter Barbara, however,
is a devout major in the Salvation Army
and sees her father as just another soul to
be saved. But when the Salvation Army
needs funds, it is Undershaft who saves
the day.
176 pp. 978-0-14-043790-4 $11.00
G e o r G e b e r N a r d s h a w
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin in 1856. Essentially shy, he created the
persona of G.B.S., the showman, satirist, critic, wit, and dramatist. Commentators
brought a new adjective into English: Shavian, a term used to embody all his
brilliant qualities. After his arrival in London in 1876 he became an active
Socialist and platform speaker. He undertook his own education at the British
museum and consequently became keenly interested in cultural subjects. He
invented the comedy of ideas, expounding on social and political problems with
a razor-sharp tongue, yet never sacrificing the comic vitality that ensures regular
revivals of his plays. Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925 and lived
long enough to see a few of his plays made into films. He died in 1950.