Skip to main content.
 
Undergraduate study, Queen Mary, University of London
Ref No (click to see in context)GBS
TitleGEORGE BERNARD SHAW
LevelFonds
Date1927-1928
Extent5 items
Creator NameShaw, George Bernard (1856-1950)
DescriptionPapers of and relating to George Bernard Shaw, 1927-1928, comprising 2 letters and a compliment card to Beatrice White (later Professor White), 1927, concerning the indexing of his book The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism (Beatrice White indexed the book); press cuttings of a review of the book, 1928.
Admin HistoryBorn, Dublin, 1856; attended a Weslyan school, but was largely self educated through visits to the National Gallery of Ireland and wide reading; worked as a cashier, 1872-1876; moved to London in 1876 to join his mother and sister; wrote but failed to publish five novels, 1878-1883; strongly influenced by Karl Marx's Das Kapital ; joined and became a leading member of the Fabian Society, 1884, and edited Fabian Essays in Socialism , 1889; worked as a book, drama and music critic for the Pall Mall Gazette, 1885-1888, the World , 1886-1889, the Star , 1888-1890, and the Saturday Review, 1895-1898; published The quintessence of Ibsenism , 1891; wrote Widowers' Houses for performance by Independent Theatre , 1892, attacking slum landlords and allying Shaw with a realistic and political movement in the theatre; this was followed by The Philanderer (1893), Mrs Warren's Profession (1893, concerning prostitution and banned until 1902), Arms and the Man (1894), Candida (1897) and You Never Can Tell (1899); obtained first successful production of a play with The Devil's Disciple , New York, 1897; married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, 1898; wrote Captain Brassbound's Conversion for Ellen Terry, 1900; completed Caesar and Cleopatra , 1899, which was produced by Mrs Patrick Campbell in 1901; established as a playwright of international importance, with the completion and performance of Man and Superman (1901-1903), John Bull's Other Island (1904), Major Barbara (1905) and The Doctor's Dilemma (1906), which were produced by Harley Granville-Barker for the Royal Court Theatre; wrote his most popular play, Pygmalion , in 1913 (he later adapted it for the screen, winning an Academy Award in the process); during World War One, made numerous anti-war speeches; his postwar plays include Heartbreak House (1920), Back to Methuselah (1922), and St Joan (1923); won the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1925, but refused the award; established the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation for the translation of Swedish literature into English; wrote extensively on social, economic and political issues, notably The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism (1928), and Everybody's Political What's What? (1944); his later plays, produced at the Malvern Festivals, included The Apple Cart (1929), Too True to be Good (1932) and Geneva (1939); retired, 1943; left residue of his estate to institute a British alphabet of at least 40 letters; died 1950. Publications: include: The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism (Constable & Co, London, 1928); The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (Constable & Co, London, 1932); Everybody's Political What's What? (Constable & Co, London, 1944).
ArrangementThe papers are listed chronologically.
Copyright StatementNo material may be published without the prior permission of both the copyright holder and the Library. All applications for publication
must be made to the College Archivist in the first instance, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user.
Access StatusOpen
Persons
CodePerson or Corporate Body Name
DS/UK/119White; Beatrice (fl1939-1976); Professor; Academic.
DS/UK/120Shaw; George Bernard (1856-1950); Irish playwright, Critic, Novelist