Bernard Shaw: The One-Volume Definitive Edition [Paperback]

Michael Holroyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2005

"We regard Mr. Holroyd with awe, as a prodigy among biographers."—The New York Times Book Review

In a single-volume format, Michael Holroyd's masterpiece of a biography offers new verve and pace; Shaw's world is more dramatically revealed as Holroyd counterpoints the private and public Shaw with inimitable insight and scholarship. 27 black-and-white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Holroyd has written celebrated biographies of Hugh Kingsmill, Augustus John, and Bernard Shaw, as well as the acclaimed Basil Street Blues and Mosaic. He lives in London with his wife.

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (December 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393327183
• ISBN-13: 978-0393327182
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really? I'm the first to review this amazing book?!?, July 12, 2011

By 

Rolls Andre - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bernard Shaw: The One-Volume Definitive Edition (Paperback)

I must say that I am shocked that I am the first person to review this amazing book. If you've ever read Shaw his plays can seem like schematic exercises in speechifying rather than actual blood and guts drama. Holroyd's major achievement is pointing out how personal Shaw's writing really was.

Let's allow ourselves a quick look first at the list of Shaw's masterpieces: "Arms and the Man," "Candida," "Caesar and Cleopatra," "Man and Superman," "Major Barbara," "The Doctor's Dilemma," "Androcles and the Lion," "Pygmalion," "Heartbreak House" and "Saint Joan." Whew! Each one is a scholarly gem but is still "revive-able" and profitable to any management merely interested in keeping bottoms attached to seats. Add to these plays that might not reek of literary genius but are still eminently "act-able" and enjoyable in the theatre ("Mrs. Warren's Profession," "You Never Can Tell," "The Devil's Disciple," "Misalliance," "Fanny's First Play," and "Too True Too Be Good") and we have undoubtedly one of the greatest giants who ever wrote for the stage.

What makes this book remarkable is we don't feel like we are in the great man's shadow but in the real man's presence. It's as if we were at lunch with him quaffing the cold milk and noshing on the vegetarian fare he survived on while laughing at the world with him. And what's truly eye opening is that his plays weren't treatises but actual personal works that reflected how their author saw the world. And not just as a social critic but as a person.

This bio finds the human soul behind the comic mask. It is indispensable for the insight it provides into the motivation, creation and emotional layout of each of the plays. Bravo Mr. Holroyd! This book is for any fan of the stage or amazing personalities!