Man of Destiny [Paperback]

Bernard Shaw (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0887342345 | ISBN-13: 978-0887342349 | Publication Date: March 1992

LADY. Thank you, General: I have no doubt the sensation is very voluptuous; but I had rather not. I simply want to go home: that's all. I was wicked enough to steal your despatches; but you have got them back; and you have forgiven me, because (delicately reproducing his rhetorical cadence) you are as generous to the vanquished after the battle as you are resolute in the face of the enemy before it. Won't you say good-bye to me? (She offers her hand sweetly.)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 44 pages
• Publisher: Players Pr (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887342345
• ISBN-13: 978-0887342349
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,011,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant comedic play by a master artist, January 28, 2011

By 

Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man of Destiny (Paperback)

The title of this comedic play is ironic. It is 1796. Napoleon is 26 year old, just promoted to general, and is involved in a war against Austria. He is bombastic, over-sure of himself, confident about his destiny, and not at all the Napoleon of his mature years. He is impetuous and lacks cool wisdom.

Napoleon's lieutenant is ordered to bring him dispatches, but is duped out of them by a beautiful woman disguised as a man. Napoleon, staying on the fringes of the battle in a hotel, discovers the woman and demands that she hand over the papers. He grabs them but doesn't read them. The interplay between the two - both their behavior and speech - is humorous, for the woman is doing her best to dupe the general.

She tells him that she is not a spy. She is only interested in stopping him from receiving one letter, which is from a married woman to a man she loves. She claims that she is a friend of the married woman who begged her to get the letter. Napoleon asks her why the letter was placed among his dispatches and sent to him. Is she telling the truth? Is he the cuckolded husband? If he reads the letter, will he feel that he must act in ways that will ruin his career? Is it better that he never knows what the letter contains? Should he return the letter to the woman unread? If so, how will he be able to disguise the fact that he received the letter and may have read it? Won't this cause problems? Will the letter-snatching woman outwit the general or will he succeed at the end?