Customer Reviews

Bernard Shaw: The One-Volume Definitive Edition

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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!