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| 4/21/1894 |
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Shaw, Arms and the Man
On this day in 1894 George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man opened. It was one of his earliest plays and the first commercial success in a sixty-five play, half-century career. On the strength of it Shaw was able to give up being a music critic and, at the age of forty, become a full-time playwright. |
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| 5/30/1431 |
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Shaw and Saint Joan
On this day in 1431 Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. The first of dozens of plays about Joan's life appeared just a few years after her burning; the most famous modern treatment appeared just a few years after her canonization. This was George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, premiering in New York in 1923, in London in 1924, and finally bringing Shaw his Nobel Prize in 1925. |
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| 6/1/1898 |
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Shaw Tied in Knots
On this day in 1898 George Bernard Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townsend. Both were in their early forties and both professed a distaste for matrimony; how they came to tie a knot that would last for forty-five years -- albeit celibate ones, apparently -- is a story that has intrigued all Shaw's biographers, as it seems to have intrigued Shaw himself. |
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| 11/2/1950 |
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The Last Days of GBS
On this day in 1950 George Bernard Shaw died at the age of ninety-four. To the very end, he maintained his often irascible, always redoubtable spirit. One visitor who attempted to cushion Shaw's decline by telling him to "think of the enjoyment you've given" was referred to his famous literary prostitute: "You might say the same of any Mrs Warren." To the doctor who said he might live to a 100 if he would submit to more treatment, Shaw replied by going home. |
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| 11/22/1962 |
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GBS on the ABCs
On this day in 1962 George Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion was published in a new "fonetic alfabet," as commissioned by his will. Those who wished to attempt Shaw's cheaper, more rational system were instructed to "Keep the back of the book pressed against your lips, and advance toward the mirror until you are able to see the individual characters clearly enough to be able to copy them...." |
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BBC Interviews
An interview in which the author discusses a few things he has learned now he is 80, the hardest part of schooling, the benefit of learning while you're young, coping with life after school, being a good citizen, and amusing insight into the trick to passing exams. |  | George Bernard Shaw, 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature
Shaw was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty." Visit the official Nobel website for an author biography, and other resources. | | George Bernard Shaw: Harlequin or Patriot?
A 1915 essay on Shaw's life, politics, works, and theories.
"Bernard Shaw, the prophet and the puritan, lives in his work. But the passion which gives him uniformity and purpose as a public figure has not impaired his personal humor, his tolerance for all that is sweet and commendable, his broadness of view and eagerly inquisitive outlook upon life, his candor and honesty of mind, his generous welcome of new ideas, his love of beautiful things, his ability to appreciate and sympathize even with those forces which are banded to destroy him." | | Shaw Bizness
Provides links to electronic texts of Shaw's plays, essays, and other writings. | | The English Page
This is a teacher/student site with short accounts of his life and major works and an excellent collection of links to help with teaching Shaw. | |
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The TinL masthead features photography by
Natasha D'Schommer
, and the book art featured is by Jim Rosenau.
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