Product Description
Available in paperback for the first time, Gareth Griffith's book provides a comprehensive critical account of the political ideas of one of the most influential commentators of the twentieth century.
With close reference to a range of Shaw's texts, from the Fabian tracts to the plays, Gareth Griffith draws out the central theoretical messages of Shaw's engagement with politics. The first part of the book provides an intellectual biography, while at the same time analysing Shaw's key concerns in relation to his Fabianism, arguments for equality of income and ideas on democracy and education. Part Two looks at those areas which Shaw approached as long-standing historical problems or dramas requiring immediate thought or action; sexual equality, the Irish question, war, fascism and sovietism.
The book is directed to the general reader as well as to specialists. It will be central reading for anyone seeking to understand Shaw's life, and literary and political writings, or the development of political thinking in this century, or the problems and potential inherent in socialism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

metaphysics, pursuit of Happiness, evolutionary righteousness
George Bernard Shaw was the master intellectual of British socialism and has been one of the most influential political commentators of the twentieth century. "Socialism and Superior Brains" provides a comprehensive critical account of his political ideas. Shaw assumed many roles as a thinker, including those of artist-philosopher, clowning prophet, and pamphleteer. This book explains the methods he employed, the levels of abstraction at which his thought operated, and the intentions which informed his epic engagement with ideas. Part One provides an intellectual biography, while at the same time analyzing Shaw's concerns in relation to his Fabianism, arguments for equality of income, and ideas on democracy and education. Part Two looks at those areas which Shaw approached as long-standing historical problems or dramas requiring immediate thought or action: sexual equality, the Irish question, war, fascism and Sovietism. This book is directed to the general reader as well as the specialist. It will be central reading for anyone seeking to understand Shaw's life, his literary and political writings, or the development of political thinking in this century.

The above paragraph delineates the book in accordance with the published outline. Yet there is much more to the book than may meet the eye from the perspective of an intelligent reader. It is in the crevices of the structure that Shaw refuses to edify wherein we find the energy of his thought, much as in his plays where the whimsical is but a cover for the depth of a psychological trance. Shaw's concept of individual anarchism and his countercultural descriptions of evolutionary righteousness put him beyond the order of most liberal thinkers, and daringly exploit and expound a theorem that goes beyond good and evil. But to allow for the inadmissible prescription of a utopian society, that in addition to being functional is also adherent to the stratas of individual aims is a project that requires more than simple aggregates of historical and political investigations, astute suppositions and penetrating assessments; it calls for a great deal of maturity which may readily be condensed into a symptom of naiveté by critics of every stamp or affiliation. It is not since William Morris that a thinker as dreamy as Shelley and as beaming with common sense as Thomas Paine forced his thought on the general public. His reputation as a playwright speaks in favor of his artistic virtues, but we have only controversial and insolent ridicule when we approach him as a bona fide political thinker. The issue here, perhaps, may be more than a matter of style, or truth: it may be buried in a heap of psychological habits we find too appealing to admit as appalling. If one were to take Shaw's claim that we should do away with punishment altogether, as in no prisons or a an incarnate legal superego, we will find few even remotely cordial to the propositions invested in his writings. Socialism is here defined as extreme for practical purposes, anarchism as absolute freedom and, finally life not as a dialectical struggle but borne of a freedom that we have denied ourselves by way of social hierarchical diagnostics and a concept of democracy Shaw judges as absurd and distressing - the art of deceit most effectively endowed with consent by those being deceived.
Furthermore Griffith dilutes the presence of a social imperative that draws its impressions without the stigma of a political orientation. Words suchh as class struggle, economic equality are wielded with sensibility and a sense of historical authority, but the cynicism of classifications within a framework of proletarian or a bourgeoisie morality are radically forsworn. The essence of its political statement is assumed under the head of socialism and Fabianism, but the intent is not so much to educated, rather it is to uneducated a socius of assumed truths that demean, degrade and incarcerate. Foucault designates anthropology, by circumscriptions that uproot an archeology of knowledge that defines the individual in ways that make us feel strangers to ourselves, but Shaw's depth stood beyond the strata of discourse of his time and still does of ours. The philosophy of life, implicitly and explicitly, must yet be understood, and Gareth Griffith does an admirable work in trying to bring us closer to the core of its tenets. However it is safe to say that if we look upon the beauty of humanity as a utopian distillation then we realize why the use of words such as superman or ubermensch are greeted with disparaging tones and fearful cadences. In all truth the message here treated is too much for us and the author might as well have screamed his heart out in the desert because few, less than few, will peruse this book with that suspension of preconceived ideas which we must by necessity begin from and map out of. Garreth Griffith does more than just offer a delighful read, this study is more than merely a source whereby the acquisition of knowledge of a major playwright may be had; There is the candor of innocence, the wisp of absence, the insistant breakdown of our compromising tendencies, and in doing so challenges its audience to truly listen to its content, as if the echo of its voice where to travel beyond the borders of space lost in an abyss of skepticism. this is the best secondary literature on the subject and an indispensable guide to 20th century political thought. But it is a work of postmodern sensibility, which reluctantly deciphers the chaos from the carnival. In its explication the book does nothing less tha expound the heart of postmodern ethics. Beckett and Shaw are far more similar than we may at first realize. They are two sides of the same coin: from head to tail one choice to make: coin. But that's not fair... ... Read more

Product Description
George Bernard Shaw was the greatest British dramatist after Shakespeare, a satirist equal to Jonathan Swift, and a playwright whose most profound gift was his ability to make audiences think by provoking them to laughter.

In one of his best-loved plays, Pygmalion, which later became the basis for the musical My Fair Lady, Shaw compels the audience to see the utter absurdity and hypocrisy of class distinction when Professor Henry Higgins wagers that he can transform a common flower girl into a lady—and then pass her off as a duchess—simply by changing her speech and manners.

In Major Barbara Shaw spins out the drama of an eccentric millionaire, a romantic poet, and a misguided savior of souls, Major Barbara herself, in a topsy-turvy masterpiece of sophisticated banter and urbane humor. His brilliant dialogue, combined with his use of paradox and socialist theory, never fails to tickle, entertain—and challenge.


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Manipulation in the name of science...
Before I read Pygmalion everythin I knew was, that is was connected to the musical 'My fair lady'. So first of all I was scared because musicals arer not the kind of entertainment I prefer. But while reading it the manipulation of a poor an first mentally weak girl in the name of science an in a sadistic and somehow abusing way kept me in suspense to go on reading. And beside that human-despising experiment a little love story evolved to a happy end. To conclude I want to justify the 'just' three stars: I don't like love stories.

Praise for Shaw's Voice
Shaw masters satire in Pymalion his play with a double edged sword.A superficial examination of the play reveals it to be a self-rightoues lesson in grammar. But a deeper inspection shows it tobe a toungue in cheek comedy (albeit a critical one) that reveals much about the British society of the time (particularly linguistically speaking).Henry Higgin's unabashed condescending attitude provide many laughs while Eliza's emotion filled responses are also humorous and no less insightful.The prolougue although irritating to most, gives the play a unique voice and the epilogue although considered by many to be a literary fallacy says true to Shaw's style.I have only one complaint about this book that I can rant on about to no end, that fact that he say's English is the language of the Bible. Is English the lanuguage of Crime and Punishment or Metamorphosis because it was translated in English? Please, don't insult us. But aside from that it is a Brilliant play!

The Pygmalion was wonderful, but Major Barbara...?
This was, all in all, a charming little book.I loved the Pygmalion and the manipulative male lead, Professor Higgins.Major Barbara, on the other hand, was as boring as could be.The preface?Don't even bother reading. It was absolute boredom, and completely unaffective on the reading of MajorBarbara.The Pygmalion, while I did not particularly enjoy the epilogue(I'm a romantic), was very clever and yes, probably the real aspect of howthings turn out.So, all being said, read the book!It is a delightfullittle sample of Shaw's work.

Witty compositions but unable to escape parochialism
The worst thing I found was Shaw's ending epilogue after the Pygmalion. He went too far, too deep and too preachy in his imagination of how thingswere to turn out.His lengthy preface to Major Barbara may well reflectsentiments at the turn of the century, but he never looked at the question"whether he imagined the impoverished becoming like him or himbecoming like the impoverished" when he talked idealistically againstthe tyranny of poverty.He showed no comprehension of basic economics,social evolution nor human nature.Had he lived longer, he might have seenit in the collapse of communism in eastern Europe.That is not to say Shawwas espousing communism, and it can be argued that the communism was animperfect implementation of a perfect solution.The same then can be saidof a lot of other things, including Christianity, the Church, the SalvationArmy, nationhood, law enforcement as well as the judiciary.None set outto commit the sins they did.At the end of the day, helping feed a singleindividual may cause no more harm than helping no individuals but sittingdown and espousing fine rhetorics and theories and ideals which lead toestablishment of institutions modelled after them which affect thousandsinstead. ... Read more

Product Description
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts and decided that the concerned people acted in good faith according to their beliefs. He wrote:"There are no villains in the piece. Crime, like disease, is not interesting: it is something to be done away with by general consent, and that is all [there is] about it. It is what men do at their best, with good intentions, and what normal men and women find that they must and will do in spite of their intentions, that really concern us."Michael Holroyd has characterised the play as "a tragedy without villains" and also as Shaw's "only tragedy." John Fielden has discussed further the appropriateness of characterising Saint Joan as a tragedy.Amazon.com Review
Joan of Arc, born in 1412, was burned at the stake in 1431, canonized by the Catholic Church in 1920, and, like most saints, whitewashed byhistory. Canonization tends to strip a saint of supposedlyun-Christian attributes such as rebelliousness, pride, and intolerance. And Joan, despite having been a stubborn, haughty, naive, even foolishgirl, has for much of history been remembered only as a pious martyr. However, George Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan, completed in 1925,began the modern rehabilitation of the icon as a fully human, falliblecharacter--not to mention a poster girl for teenage rebellion and feminism.Shaw's Joan, like the real Maid of Orleans, leads the fight to drive theEnglish out of her native France, insists on direct communication with herGod instead of submitting to the mediation of Catholic priests, and refusesto dress, speak, or act according to traditional notions of how women wereexpected to behave. Until the closing scene of Shaw's play, however,neither Joan nor her foes are cast in neatly heroic terms. Both areearnestly pursuing their partial visions of the truth. In the play'sfamous epilogue, Shaw suggests that even 400 years later, most ofus are so limited by our own perspectives that we are unable to tell thedifference between a saint and a heretic. "O God that madest thisbeautiful earth, when will it be ready to receive Thy saints?" Joan asks,preparing for her death. "How long, O Lord, how long?" --Michael JosephGross ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Too smart, apparently, for some
"Cauchon: If you dare do what this woman has done - set your country above the holy Catholic Church - you shall go to the fire with her."

So speaks a more engaging, complex executioner of the legendary young soldier put forth by Bernard Shaw in "Saint Joan." Even if the Bishop put Joan to death for political reasons he likely believed that her execution was just. The Catholic Church's problems with Joan lingered for nearly 500 years. Her active assertion of nationalism as a holy endeavor intuited by her own judgment undermined the Catholic church's political authority, and yes, presaged the Reformation, even if Joan was not a Protestant (Shaw labels her "anti clerical").

And she willingly asserted a non-traditional feminine role (soldiering and politicking), which by its nature required non-traditional feminine behavior and dress.Reviewers who say that Joan wore armor to keep from being raped are half right, since Joan's soldiering included such occupational hazards, as with being wounded.But she did and thrived at it anyway. In fact, I agree with Shaw that the voices spurring her on were Joan's own subconcious, but that is another debate...

Those who are skeptical of Shaw's ideas would do well to consider the year of her Canonization: 1920. It's no accident that a year after the Great War, in which the world's powers successfully mobilized against each other in the name of Nationalism (the churches providing prayers and getting out of the way), that Catholicism threw up its hands and recognized the genius of the young French teenager. This too as women had been called on in support roles like nurses and ambulance drivers, and were being enfranchised by their European and American nations.

The play itself is typical Shaw - bright, smart, very worthwhile.None of the play's acts goes on too long.None is weak, except for Act III on the eve of the battle of Orleans, but Shaw is Shaw and seems embarassed by the warlike bluster. Joan herself, as others have observed, often speaks in lines that are taken directly from the trial transcripts.When she doesn't it's usually to give her a flash of wit that rarely seems contrived. This is Joan for grown-ups.And it is Joan for the 21st century: post-modern, the old sentiments put aside.

Also reccomended: Regine Pernoud's books. If you need to hear what a pretty, chaste, tear-provoking, goody goody of a girl Joan was buy Mark Twain (I myself donated that volume to the public library when I was 17).

Shaw's Joan of Arc story knows no border on Earth
Shaw's keen understanding of French Patriotism as illustrated in Joan of Arc story transcends borders, cultures, languages and skin colors. The legacy of Joan's heroism, her vision and her love of humanity and her country still haunts both Western and Eastern civilizations in each individual's effort to fulfill his "duties" in life.

Saint Joan on audio tape
Audio recordings of plays are usually done with different actors reading the roles as in a radio play.This is the first time I have listened to a play being read by only one reader.It is not at all the same experience, but better than one might expect.The reader uses a neutral American accent for the French characters, but a slightly British one to differentiate the English characters.There was a recording on Caedmon of the play with Siobhan McKenna repeating her famous performance, but it is not available.(Some libraries still have it on vinyl, but that doesn't help me pass the time while commuting.)

Shaw's play is intriguing, coming as it did so soon after Joan's canonization and Ireland's war for independence ("France for the French"), but there is no denying that is rather untheatrical, save for the climactic scene. Joan confesses to her supposed sins to save her life, but then withdraws the confession, choosing execution and martydom.I had never realized how much Arthur Miller owed to Shaw; I was reminded of the scene in The Crucible when John Proctor confesses to a lie and then recants, preferring an honorable death.These scenes are both based on historical events, of course, but the resemblance in the way they are dramatized is striking nonetheless.Here's a potential trivia topic: How many plays and movies can you think of that use the device of a false confession followed by an even more dramatic retraction?

Shaw never misses a chance to make a good point.
I have seen this performed, I have read it and I have heard it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled.I loved it every time.I agree fully with Shaw that the Catholic Church has gotten a bad rap over Joan.When you listen to her words she was espousing overt Protestant beliefs -- God can, should and will speak to one person, individually and doesn't require a mediator like the Pope or Mary or any of the saints.

I actually got the most out of this play by hearing it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled.I was able to speed the tape up and suddenly the wimpy, silly voices of the court officials came out perfectly.The farce inside the tragedy revealed itself clearly.

Shaw is brilliant and astute -- but no one needs me to tell them that!

Drama Instead of History
This is George Bernard Shaw's most important work.A successful drama that has enjoyed continuous popularity for nearly eighty years is worth a read.Most audiences find it very satisfying.Shaw has a gift for lucid dialogue that brings a centuries old story to life.This is one of the most approachable of the great English language plays.

Why then does "Saint Joan" fall short of five stars?

Fictional accounts of Joan of Arc's life are numerous and seldom accurate.Shakespeare makes her a witch.Voltaire makes her an idiot.Schiller makes her admirable - and gives her a magical helmet that protects her from harm until she falls in love.

In a rare exception to his usual satirical style, Mark Twain spent months in France researching her life and published a fictional biography.Readers who enjoy accurate historical fiction would do well with Twain's "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc."Twain considered this - not "Huckleberry Finn" - to be his finest work.

Shaw pays far more attention to accuracy than most fictionalizations.Several lines in the play are Shaw's own translations from her trial transcript.Shaw's long introductory essay aspires to be history as well as drama.Most scholars agree with his assessment of Joan of Arc's socioeconomic background.Shaw acknowledges a few dramatic economies: he combines the historical Jean d'Orleans and Duke Jean d'Alencon into a single character.What causes problems are Shaw's unacknowledged deviations from the factual record.

Shaw argues that Joan of Arc was a forerunner of Protestantism who got a fair trial.Among serious scholars this argument gains no credibility.A surviving letter from the English government that financed the trial guaranteed her execution even if the court found her not guilty.Joan of Arc never rejected the Roman Catholic Church: she rejected the authority of politically biased judges bent on discrediting her and, by inference, on discrediting the king she had crowned.Twenty-four years after her death the Pope reopened the case.The appeals court not only found her innocent but discovered such extensive violations of proper court procedure that it accused the late Bishop Cauchon of heresy.

Shaw's choice works as drama rather than as history yet he advocates it on historical grounds.He might be sincere but he is certainly not honest.To an academic scholar who has explained the facts to umpteen Shaw enthusiasts the difference can be infuriating.This is why "Saint Joan" collects a handful of scathing reviews.

A reader who understands this little shell game with history should have a lively time with the drama.If this is your first reading of "Saint Joan" then I envy you.Nothing quite equals the first encounter. ... Read more

Product Description
Shaw radically reworks Ovid's tale with a feminist twist: while Henry Higgins successfully teaches Eliza Doolittle to speak and act like a duchess, she adamantly refuses to be his creation. First produced in 1914, it remains one of Shaw's most popular plays.

The Definitive Text under the editorial supervision of Dan H. Laurence
With an Introduction by Nicholas Grene ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

book order
Ordered book on 8/22 and it was received 8/26. Fast shipping and book was exactly as described. Will order from seller again.

a great book...
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw was a great read. The action is realistic and the character's dialoug dynamic. The story is about a poor flower girl and how two men place a bet on her. One says that she could pass as duchess if she is taught proper manners, speech, and dress while the other think she can not. This book is filled with many funny moments and tense times. :)

terrible service
I ordered the book a month ago and never got it. I will never order from this again. Completely horrible. Think twice before you order anything again

Really interesting !
This is probably the best edition of one of the best plays ever written ! A very interesting play criticizing society, and showing the link between language and social status. I really love it ! Just read it. It really is an underrated play.

Pygmalion Rocks!
T. Cook writes:A true "diamond in the rough," Pygmalion is one of the cleverest and underrated plays written.Shaw conveys the faulty class system of Europe through the memorable Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle.Eliza, a cockney girl from the poor part of London, has trademark accent and original sounds, like "Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-ow-oo."Despite her poor living conditions, she is able to retain her honor and good character.She often repeats "I'm a good girl, I am."This shows that she is not willing to sell her own body and sacrifice her integrity in order to get by.Henry Higgins, in comparison, is on the higher end of the class scale.His ability to replicate any sound and to place a man within any part of London demonstrates his expertise in his field.He uses vulgar words, however, like "bloody," "devil," and "damned."He is also oblivious to his faults such as his anger and foul language. The differences in characterization show the problems with the class system; the high moral characters are in the lower class while vulgar characters are found in the high class.
While the general population is not as familiar with Pygmalion as it is with My Fair Lady, Pygmalion is superior to its movie counterpart. First, Eliza's strong accent is more evident in the play due to the strange spelling of words; the confusion of the reader in deciphering these words mirror the Londoners' confusion in listening to Eliza.Second, Rex Harrison does not fully convey the volatile nature of Higgins; Higgins in Pygmalion is capable of going from happy to furious within one line and Harrison's emotions are similar to that of a wall.

I highly recommend Pygmalion because it is a classic that is enjoyable to read and better crafted than its more famous movie adaptation.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Master of Opinion
For three quarters of a century Bernard Shaw bombarded editors of newspapers aned journals with polemical letters, thereby gaining access to a large and varied reading audience.Collected in this book for the first time, these rich and entertaining letters are gathered from hundreds of correspondence collumns, and run chronologically from 1875, when Shaw was nineteen, to 1950, the year of his death.

Here is Shaw at his outrageous best, with opinions on everything from the abolition of Christmas to the atomic bomb, from BBC pronunciation to Wagnerian opera.Through his letters to the press Shaw debated such adversaries as G.K. Chesterton, H.G. Wells, and Arthur Conan Doyle, to the enlightenment and entertainment of the reading public. ... Read more

Product Description
Plays Pleasant (1898) comprises four comedies intended to amuse audiences but also to provoke them. Arms and the Man, set in the Balkan mountains, satirizes the romantic view ofwar and military heroism. Candida presents the complicated relationship between a vicar, his wife, and her young admirer. You Never Can Tell is a light, witty look at an aging suffragette and her family. The Man of Destiny features Napoleon Bonaparte at odds with English mores. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Predictable comedies
I don't find George Bernard Shaw as entertaining as I'm supposed to. I have no doubt that his work was very forward-thinking and funny at the time, and I know that he is an important playwright. I'm also sure that in the hands of the right director any of these plays would be fantastic. However, I felt like all of the stories in this collection contained the same gimmicks. You could tell where the play was going in the first couple scenes. I guess my favorite of them all was Candida. It had the most unexpected plotline, and I felt like it wasn't trying to be anything. ... Read more

Product Description
With the plays in this 1898 collection-Widower's Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren's Profession-Shaw challenges his audiences' moral complacency in the face of serious social problems and inequities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unpleasant topics, but ideologically important
The plays of Bernard Shaw span many years and cover many topics.While many of Shaw's works are entertaining as well as enlightening, the plays in this volume (written very early in his career) tackle complex issues that concern society. These plays force us to critically view how success in the world is judged.They demonstrate how any of us may unknowingly be an accomplice to or a participant in activities to which we stringently object on a moral basis.This is pertinent in society today!The works in this volume open our eyes. . .and we may not like what we see.In summary, the plays in this volume are important, although they will hopefully make the reader feel somewhat uncomfortable.A well planned anthology of Shaw's work should be part of any college education ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Too smart, apparently, for some
"Cauchon: If you dare do what this woman has done - set your country above the holy Catholic Church - you shall go to the fire with her."

So speaks a more engaging, complex executioner of the legendary young soldier put forth by Bernard Shaw in "Saint Joan." Even if the Bishop put Joan to death for political reasons he likely believed that her execution was just. The Catholic Church's problems with Joan lingered for nearly 500 years. Her active assertion of nationalism as a holy endeavor intuited by her own judgment undermined the Catholic church's political authority, and yes, presaged the Reformation, even if Joan was not a Protestant (Shaw labels her "anti clerical").

And she willingly asserted a non-traditional feminine role (soldiering and politicking), which by its nature required non-traditional feminine behavior and dress.Reviewers who say that Joan wore armor to keep from being raped are half right, since Joan's soldiering included such occupational hazards, as with being wounded.But she did and thrived at it anyway. In fact, I agree with Shaw that the voices spurring her on were Joan's own subconcious, but that is another debate...

Those who are skeptical of Shaw's ideas would do well to consider the year of her Canonization: 1920. It's no accident that a year after the Great War, in which the world's powers successfully mobilized against each other in the name of Nationalism (the churches providing prayers and getting out of the way), that Catholicism threw up its hands and recognized the genius of the young French teenager. This too as women had been called on in support roles like nurses and ambulance drivers, and were being enfranchised by their European and American nations.

The play itself is typical Shaw - bright, smart, very worthwhile.None of the play's acts goes on too long.None is weak, except for Act III on the eve of the battle of Orleans, but Shaw is Shaw and seems embarassed by the warlike bluster. Joan herself, as others have observed, often speaks in lines that are taken directly from the trial transcripts.When she doesn't it's usually to give her a flash of wit that rarely seems contrived. This is Joan for grown-ups.And it is Joan for the 21st century: post-modern, the old sentiments put aside.

Also reccomended: Regine Pernoud's books. If you need to hear what a pretty, chaste, tear-provoking, goody goody of a girl Joan was buy Mark Twain (I myself donated that volume to the public library when I was 17).

Shaw's Joan of Arc story knows no border on Earth
Shaw's keen understanding of French Patriotism as illustrated in Joan of Arc story transcends borders, cultures, languages and skin colors. The legacy of Joan's heroism, her vision and her love of humanity and her country still haunts both Western and Eastern civilizations in each individual's effort to fulfill his "duties" in life.

Saint Joan on audio tape
Audio recordings of plays are usually done with different actors reading the roles as in a radio play.This is the first time I have listened to a play being read by only one reader.It is not at all the same experience, but better than one might expect.The reader uses a neutral American accent for the French characters, but a slightly British one to differentiate the English characters.There was a recording on Caedmon of the play with Siobhan McKenna repeating her famous performance, but it is not available.(Some libraries still have it on vinyl, but that doesn't help me pass the time while commuting.)

Shaw's play is intriguing, coming as it did so soon after Joan's canonization and Ireland's war for independence ("France for the French"), but there is no denying that is rather untheatrical, save for the climactic scene. Joan confesses to her supposed sins to save her life, but then withdraws the confession, choosing execution and martydom.I had never realized how much Arthur Miller owed to Shaw; I was reminded of the scene in The Crucible when John Proctor confesses to a lie and then recants, preferring an honorable death.These scenes are both based on historical events, of course, but the resemblance in the way they are dramatized is striking nonetheless.Here's a potential trivia topic: How many plays and movies can you think of that use the device of a false confession followed by an even more dramatic retraction?

Shaw never misses a chance to make a good point.
I have seen this performed, I have read it and I have heard it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled.I loved it every time.I agree fully with Shaw that the Catholic Church has gotten a bad rap over Joan.When you listen to her words she was espousing overt Protestant beliefs -- God can, should and will speak to one person, individually and doesn't require a mediator like the Pope or Mary or any of the saints.

I actually got the most out of this play by hearing it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled.I was able to speed the tape up and suddenly the wimpy, silly voices of the court officials came out perfectly.The farce inside the tragedy revealed itself clearly.

Shaw is brilliant and astute -- but no one needs me to tell them that!

Drama Instead of History
This is George Bernard Shaw's most important work.A successful drama that has enjoyed continuous popularity for nearly eighty years is worth a read.Most audiences find it very satisfying.Shaw has a gift for lucid dialogue that brings a centuries old story to life.This is one of the most approachable of the great English language plays.

Why then does "Saint Joan" fall short of five stars?

Fictional accounts of Joan of Arc's life are numerous and seldom accurate.Shakespeare makes her a witch.Voltaire makes her an idiot.Schiller makes her admirable - and gives her a magical helmet that protects her from harm until she falls in love.

In a rare exception to his usual satirical style, Mark Twain spent months in France researching her life and published a fictional biography.Readers who enjoy accurate historical fiction would do well with Twain's "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc."Twain considered this - not "Huckleberry Finn" - to be his finest work.

Shaw pays far more attention to accuracy than most fictionalizations.Several lines in the play are Shaw's own translations from her trial transcript.Shaw's long introductory essay aspires to be history as well as drama.Most scholars agree with his assessment of Joan of Arc's socioeconomic background.Shaw acknowledges a few dramatic economies: he combines the historical Jean d'Orleans and Duke Jean d'Alencon into a single character.What causes problems are Shaw's unacknowledged deviations from the factual record.

Shaw argues that Joan of Arc was a forerunner of Protestantism who got a fair trial.Among serious scholars this argument gains no credibility.A surviving letter from the English government that financed the trial guaranteed her execution even if the court found her not guilty.Joan of Arc never rejected the Roman Catholic Church: she rejected the authority of politically biased judges bent on discrediting her and, by inference, on discrediting the king she had crowned.Twenty-four years after her death the Pope reopened the case.The appeals court not only found her innocent but discovered such extensive violations of proper court procedure that it accused the late Bishop Cauchon of heresy.

Shaw's choice works as drama rather than as history yet he advocates it on historical grounds.He might be sincere but he is certainly not honest.To an academic scholar who has explained the facts to umpteen Shaw enthusiasts the difference can be infuriating.This is why "Saint Joan" collects a handful of scathing reviews.

A reader who understands this little shell game with history should have a lively time with the drama.If this is your first reading of "Saint Joan" then I envy you.Nothing quite equals the first encounter. ... Read more

Product Description
McCOMAS. Howled at! My dear good lady: there is nothing in any of those views now-a-days to prevent her from marrying a bishop. You reproached me just now for having become respectable. You were wrong: I hold to our old opinions as strongly as ever. I don't go to church; and I don't pretend I do. I call myself what I am: a Philosophic Radical, standing for liberty and the rights of the individual, as I learnt to do from my master Herbert Spencer. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
Augustus Does His Bit by George Bernard Shaw
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Customer Reviews (1)

A very funny one act play
This one act comedy, written by George Bernard Shaw during the First World War, was praised during its day, but is not widely known now. Virtually every event in the play is hilarious.

Lord Augustus Highcastle, a colonel in the English army, is 45 years old. He is the scion of a prestigious family with officials in both the English and German governments. He is a fool and any who meets him can see it.

In fact the Germans once captured him when he foolhardily advanced against them. The Germans released him within an hour because they figured that it would better serve their interests if Augustus remained in the English fighting forces.Some English people similarly said that since Augustus was on the job, England needed an additional million soldiers to protect the homeland. The play pocks fun at the war and the way that the English administration is handling it.

The plot focuses upon Augustus having a secret document showing how the English placed their guns. A woman decides to steal the document from Augustus to show what a fool he is, and the play shows how she does so. While the play is not fashionable, it is a delight to read.

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Product Description
This novel was written in the year 1880 only a few years after I had exported myself from Dublin to London in a condition of extreme rawness and inexperience concerning the specifically English side of the life with which the book pretends to deal. ... Read more

Product Description
Androcles and the Lion by George Bernard Shaw
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Customer Reviews (7)

This edition misses the point
With Shaw's plays, the point is in the preface.In the case of Androcles and the Lion, the preface is Shaw's disquisition on Christianity -- he explains it and the Gospels, in his inimitable way -- for over a hundred pages.The preface to Androcles and the Lion is one of Shaw's masterpieces...and is MISSING from this edition.Could it possibly be that this is because those putting this travesty of Shaw's work out do not want Christian readers seeing Shaw's explanation?

Read the whole book!!!
Do not be tempted to pass over the essay that begins this book.It is a delightfully thought provoking essay that sets up the story of the play.Shaw writes of his views of organized religon with support for his thesis.It is important to read this before diving into the play itself.

The play is wonderful, but the theater program must be 200 pages long.You need all the 111 pages before the play to get all of the meanings of the play.

The Folly of Martydom
To prick a thorn out of a lion's foot one will surely gain new friends and old enemies. The story of Androcles, a Christian who is about to be sent to the lions for being a heretic in the Roman Empire. A cynical, humerous,poignant, and hypocritical story of religion versus humanism. The book isintended with the introduction with Shaw's discourse on Jesus andChristianity. Although I found it dryly written, which some wit involved,he makes some good remarks on the problems of Christianity. Mainly is thedevout in which they will surely go to the lions before giving up theirgods. Hypocritically the Romans could care less who their gods were orwhether they believed in them, so long it was not a Christian god. Theintroduction acts as a set-up to put one in the mind set of Shaw and tounderstand his point of view which makes the play that much easier tounderstand and funnier to read. The play itself is a wonderful entry intothe classics of the thearter.

A Pleasant Fable
Androcles and the Lion is an allegorical work which points out that kindness is not necessarity altruistic - it can be of worth.Shaw's writing is brilliant and well worth the reading.

Excellant to show sequencing to learning disabled students
I teach 7th grade learning disabled students world history and I use Androceles and the Lion to teach sequencing skills. After I read the story, I ask the students to number in order in which they occur, several eventsin the story. ... Read more

Product Description
The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet by George Bernard Shaw
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Product Description
BRASSBOUND. Nervous, sir! no. Nervousness is not in my line. You will find me perfectly capable of saying what I want to say--with considerable emphasis, if necessary. Sir Howard assents with a polite but incredulous nod. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A delightful play
In this three act comedy, no person or act is exactly what he, she, or it appears to be. Captain Brassbound's conversion is not from atheism to Christianity, but from a rough character to something slightly more refined, a conversion that lasts only until he leaves the influence of a rather beautiful but silly woman. Indeed, the missionary in the play was only capable of converting one man during his 25 years of activity in Morocco, and this man, a thief, only seems converted, like Brassbound and the woman, when he is near the clergyman. The Muslims in Morocco call the missionaries Epicureans because they seem to a life of luxurious idleness.

The play focuses on the mesmerizing power of a beautiful but foolish woman upon men. She has her way with every man she meets, Christian and Muslim, pious and thief. Brassbound is a brigand who controls a group of thieves by the force of his personality and his physical strength. The uncle of the beautiful woman cheated him and his mother and he wants revenge. But he abandons his plan because of the influence of the woman. Readers will enjoy the play's humor.
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