Revised edition: Previously published as Pygmalion, this edition of Pygmalion (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.
London phonetics professor Henry Higgins sees no reason why he can’t single-handedly transform a poor flower girl with a cockney accent into a cultured, high-society woman. When challenged to prove so, he takes the bet. However, his strong-headed subject, Eliza Doolittle, won’t make the job easy, avowing her independence. And she may just have a thing or two to teach him in return.
With his signature wit, George Bernard Shaw brought the Greek myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who created the perfect female statue and fell in love with her, into the twentieth century. Eliza’s transformational tale not only stands as a searing critique of the British class system and notions of femininity but is also a bold comedy of manners that provides abiding entertainment.
AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.
George Bernard Shaw (18561950) was a prolific Irish playwright who wrote more than sixty plays in his lifetime. Shaws success didnt come easily, though; he struggled early in his career, penning several novels he couldnt get published, while depending on financial support from his mother. But by 1895, he was working as a literary, art, music, and theater critic for the Saturday Review and was writing his own scripts.
Beginning with Caesar and Cleopatra in 1898, Shaws skill as a playwright became widely acknowledged. He was later celebrated as a master dramatist for productions such as Major Barbara, Saint Joan, and perhaps his best-known work, Pygmalion, which later was adapted for screen as My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
