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George Bernard Shaw
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Plays Unpleasant (Bernard Shaw Library) Paperback – January 1, 2001

by George Bernard Shaw (Author), David Edgar (Introduction)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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Exclusive to Penguin Classics: the definitive text of Shaw’s volume of “unpleasant” plays, Widowers’ Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession—part of the official Bernard Shaw Library

A Penguin Classic

With Plays Unpleasant, Shaw issued a radical challenge to his audiences’ complacency and exposed social evils through his dramatization of the moral conflicts between youthful idealism and economic reality, promiscuity and marriage, and the duties of women to others and to themselves. His first play, Widowers’ Houses, depicts Harry Trench’s dilemma on learning that the inheritance of his fiancée comes from her father’s income as a slum landlord. In The Philanderer, charismatic Leonard Charteris proposes marriage to Grace, while he is still involved with the beautiful Julia Craven—who is not inclined to give him up so easily. And in Mrs. Warren's Profession, Vivie Warren is forced to reconsider her own future when she discovers that her mother's immoral earnings funded her genteel upbringing.
 
This is the definitive text under the editorial supervision of Dan H. Laurence. This volume includes Shaw’s prefaces, cast lists from the first productions of the plays, and a list of his principal works.
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    5.11 x 0.7 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780140437935
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0140437935
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

By the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“[Shaw] did his best in redressing the fateful unbalance between truth and reality, in lifting mankind to a higher rung of social maturity. He often pointed a scornful finger at human frailty, but his jests were never at the expense of humanity.” —Thomas Mann
 
“Shaw will not allow complacency; he hates second-hand opinions; he attacks fashion; he continually challenges and unsettles, questioning and provoking us even when he is making us laugh. And he is still at it. No cliché or truism of contemporary life is safe from him.”—Michael Holroyd
 
“In his works Shaw left us his mind. . . . Today we have no Shavian wizard to awaken us with clarity and paradox, and the loss to our national intelligence is immense.” —The Sunday Times
 
“He was a Tolstoy with jokes, a modern Dr. Johnson, a universal genius who on his own modest reckoning put even Shakespeare in the shade.”—The Independent
 
“His plays were superb exercises in high-level argument on every issue under the sun, from feminism and God, to war and eternity, but they were also hits—and still are.”—The Daily Mail

About the Author

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) is one of the world’s greatest literary figures. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he left school at fourteen and in 1876 went to London, where he began his literary career with a series of unsuccessful novels. In 1884 he became a founder of the Fabian Society, the famous British socialist organization. After becoming a reviewer and drama critic, he published a study of the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen in 1891 and became determined to create plays as he felt Ibsen did: to shake audiences out of their moral complacency and to attack social problems. However, Shaw was an irrepressible wit, and his plays are as entertaining as they are socially provocative. Basically shy, Shaw created a public persona for himself: G.B.S., a bearded eccentric, crusading social critic, antivivisectionist, language reformer, strict vegetarian, and renowned public speaker. The author of fifty-three plays, hundreds of essays, reviews, and letters, and several books, Shaw is best known for Widowers’ Houses, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Arms and the Man, Caesar and Cleopatra, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Heartbreak House, and Saint Joan. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.

David Edgar (introducer) has written widely on theater. His original plays include Destiny, Maydays, and Pentecost.

Dan H. Laurence (series editor; 1920–2008) was series editor for the works of George Bernard Shaw in Penguin. Formerly a New York University faculty member, Mr. Laurence left his tenured position in 1970 to dedicated his life to the collection and curation of Shaw's life, work, and letters. He served as the official literary advisor to Shaw's estate and published four volumes of his correspondence.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140437932
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140437935
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140437935
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.11 x 0.7 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

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George Bernard Shaw

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
34 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Philip Samuels
4.0 out of 5 stars Unpleasant topics, but ideologically important
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2002
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
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John Passanante
1.0 out of 5 stars FALLS APART AFTER FIRST READING
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019
Book falls apart after first reading
Cheesy cheep quality
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Mrs. Janis Farmer
5.0 out of 5 stars God reads
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2020
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Enjoyable
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Chitralekha ghosh
5.0 out of 5 stars Grdat
Reviewed in India on August 6, 2019
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Laura
5.0 out of 5 stars Plays
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2013
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This book is in great condition! Lived up to my expectations and is fantastic to read. There are no pen markings on any of the pages which is good.
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