George Bernard Shaw's Plays (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

George Bernard Shaw (Author), Sandie Byrne (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393977536 | ISBN-13: 978-0393977530 | Publication Date: April 2002 | Edition: 2nd

This collection presents a cross-section of Shaw's most important theater work—Mrs. Warren's Profession, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, and Pygmalion.

Each play is fully annotated.

"Contexts and Criticism" features all-new material on the author and his work, from traditional critical readings to more theorized approaches, among them essays on Shaw's Fabianism and his alleged feminism.  Contributors include Leon Hugo, Sally Peters, Tracy C. Davis, John A. Bertolini, Stanley Weintraub, and J. Ellen Gainor.

A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sandie Byrne is Fellow and Tutor in English at Balliol College, Oxford University. She is the author of Tony Harrison: Loiner, H., V., and O.: The Poetry of Tony Harrison, the Icon Reader's Guide to Ted Hughes, and the Icon Reader's Guide to Mansfield Park.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 2nd edition (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393977536
• ISBN-13: 978-0393977530
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the reference shelf., July 31, 2010

By 

Peebee - See all my reviews

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This review is from: George Bernard Shaw's Plays (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

I bought the book to be able to read the actual text of "Mrs. Warren's Profession", which I had just seen. The texts of three other Shaw classics (Maj. B., Pyg., & Arms) were a fine dividend, hence my comment that the book is a good addition to the reference shelf. However, the accompanying materials were of decidedly mixed value. Shaw's notes, as usual, made good reading, and the quotes from contemporary performance reviews, especially for Mrs. Warren, were quite colorful. The rest of the articles, which I suppose are samples of Literary Criticism, made me glad I chose Physics as a profession. They were dull, turgid, and dry - academic English at its worst. I bogged down early. Of course, they are now decades old; fashions may have changed.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shaw, July 23, 2009

By 

P. B. McCaffery (Notre Dame, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: George Bernard Shaw's Plays (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

George Bernard Shaw was a master playwright. This little book contains but a sampling of his complete opus, but it is a good place to start for appreciating the man and his ideas. Disagree with him at your own peril; it is a sword-fight always whether you do or don't.