Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
92 Rating(s)
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Pygmalion

Author: George Bernard Shaw

Narrator: Harriet Seed

Unabridged: 3 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/01/2020

Categories: Fiction, Drama


Synopsis

“What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.”

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is the fascinating tale of Henry Higgins, a professor of speech and phonetics who takes on the task of teaching Eliza Doolittle, a lower-class flower seller, how to “act like a lady.” The street-smart Eliza knows how to fend for herself in many ways but wishes to become more ladylike, and Higgins claims that he can teach her to pass as a duchess simply by teaching her how to speak. The duo’s dynamic personalities clash, and the play follows their antics as Higgins imparts his book knowledge to a stubborn Eliza, who is happy to learn but reluctant to leave her old ways entirely behind. They teach one another about finding one’s place in society and embracing the colloquial as well as the formal. This play perfected the trope of two opposite personalities partnering to teach one another how their respective social circles work.
This classic play is critically acclaimed and still entrances modern audiences, and served as the basis for the popular classic musical My Fair Lady. It remains Shaw’s most well-known play, and the humorous and fascinating relationship dynamics at play make it a timeless classic that will inspire generations to come.

About George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish-born playwright, critic, and political activist, began his writing career in London. In addition to writing sixty-three plays, his prodigious output as critic, pamphleteer, and essayist influenced numerous social issues. In 1925, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature and in 1938 an Oscar for the movie version of Pygmalion.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Federico on June 21, 2023

Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-oo! Exceptional linguist Professor Henry Higgins meets gentleman Colonel Pickering and they whimsically set on crazy bet to pass off Eliza, a low class street flower girl, as a respectable royal lady of the high society. Little do they know Eliza has a few talents of her own. This wa......more

Goodreads review by Dave on March 31, 2012

This is fun to read out loud in crazy English accents while stomping around your apartment. The neighbors might not like it but screw 'em.......more

Goodreads review by Meghhnaa on September 28, 2022

Pygmalion is a verbose, satirical, romantic play, distributed over 5 Acts, with no scenes! The play opens with the following preparatory lines- “It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. German and Spanish are accessible to foreigne......more

Goodreads review by Candi on May 03, 2019

3.5 stars "… you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from soul." Even if you are not already familiar with Geor......more