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Pygmalion (Enriched Classics Series) by…
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Pygmalion (Enriched Classics Series) (edition 2005)

by George Bernard Shaw

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6,694781,397 (3.84)147
Classic Literature. Drama. Fiction. HTML:

In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion a phonetician believes the power of speech is such that he can introduce a Cockney flower girl to polite society after careful language and etiquette training, and no one will discern her true roots. The professor and the flower girl grown close, but after her successful debut she rejects the professor and his overbearing ways for a poor gentleman.

The most famous adaptation of the play is the 1964 film My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

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Member:jen.s
Title:Pygmalion (Enriched Classics Series)
Authors:George Bernard Shaw
Info:Simon & Schuster (2005), Edition: Reprint, Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages
Collections:Your library
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Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (Author)

1910s (33)
AP Lit (192)
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English (68)  Spanish (2)  Italian (2)  Catalan (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Hebrew (1)  Dutch (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (78)
Showing 1-5 of 68 (next | show all)
7/10
Although I've never seen My Fair Lady (a travesty, I know), I've heard of it quite a bit - so reading the source play made a lot of sense when I picked this up.
The story is simple enough - two bachelors making a bet to themselves that they could pass off a flower girl as a princess in six months - and the younger of the two falling in love (or not, it's never made clear) with the flower girl in the process.
I'll not spoil it for others who've never read it, but the ending was a welcome surprise. There are two endings in the version I read, along with a sequel of sorts - in which Shaw elaborates why he chose the ending he did (which is rife with casual sexism), but if you can get past that - I suppose it does make sense.
Pygmalion was a pleasant and short read, with some laugh-out-loud moments - I couldn't have asked for anything more. ( )
  SidKhanooja | Sep 1, 2023 |
A study of the effects of manners of speech on social stabnding. The effects are still with us today, though much subtler, due to mass media. This is the basis of the hit musical "My Fair Lady"as well as a classic in its own right. the musical ends well before the afterword to the play does. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Feb 28, 2023 |
I don‘t have much to say about this. A retelling of the myth, it‘s a very unusual premise for a play, but I‘m so glad it ends differently than the musical. The afterword by Shaw is helpful to read, but his analysis of the characters has a pop-psychology style which is bizarre. The only reason I‘m not panning this is because Eliza sticks up for herself at the end. I‘m rewatching the musical for a class so the comparison will be interesting. ( )
  psalva | Oct 14, 2022 |
I bailed on this play after Act II because I found Henry Higgins to a patronizing chauvinist who thinks he knows best for everyone. He bullies Eliza Doolittle into becoming his protégée and goes far beyond his appropriate remit of giving elocution lessons by insisting she stay in his house and be given new clothes and taught to behave like a Lady. However, reading about the play after returning the book to the library tells me that Act III seems to be where the play really gets going, and that Higgins gets his comeuppance. But I had too many books on the shelves to read and had already dragged my feet about reading this play to begin with, renewing the book three times before even touching it, so although I don’t plan to come back to the play, I feel it would be unfair to rate it.

The edition of the play I read came in an omnibus with four other Shaw plays and had a preface as well as extra scenes added from the motion picture version and photos from early stage productions. Also, I’d forgotten that one of Shaw’s hobbyhorses was reforming the English language, and that comes across in the missing apostrophes in contractions (cant rather than can’t, wont rather than won’t). So those parts of the reading experience were interesting.
  rabbitprincess | Aug 21, 2022 |
This is the original play version much better known as the musical My Fair Lady. As such, this lacks the variety of scenes of the latter, with the Ambassador's ball taking place off-stage and no Ascot race day. The hilarious scenes of Eliza's elocution lessons ("the rain in Spain is mainly in the plain" etc. are missing here). Aside from that, the dialogue is nearly identical and sparkles and flows like quicksilver though, as when I saw the musical a few days ago, I was irritated by the way Eliza is treated not only by Higgins, but perhaps even more so by the housekeeper Mrs Pearce, as though she is little more than an object with no feelings. In any case, the play/musical are both well worth reading/watching. ( )
  john257hopper | Jul 23, 2022 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Shaw, George BernardAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Abreu, Mário César deTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Agresti, AntonioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Alexander, RoslynNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Anderberg, BengtTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bard, Susannesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bartle, BrianIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bentley, Ericsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bertinetti, PaoloIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Blatchford, Roysecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Broutá. JulioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brown, John Russellsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bru de Sala, XavierTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Burke, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Carr, L.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cochran, ShannonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Coenraads, EduardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Conolly, LeonardEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cookson, Lindasecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Craig, DanielCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Davis, TimIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dorian, A. F.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Douthwaite, Johnsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
du Maurier, DeniseNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fernandes, MillôrTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fisher, JacquelineRed.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fleckhaus, WillyCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fricke, Petersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Furlan, NadjaDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Geisen, HerbertEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Glaser, MiltonCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gordon, HannahNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gould, GerardEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Grene, NicholasIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Habart, MichelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Heijenoort, J.A.G. vansecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hildesheimer, WolfgangPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hordern, Sir MichaelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hynes, JamesContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hynes, Jamessecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jurak, MirkoAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Koshland, Daniel EdwardAssociated Namesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Koshland, Lucile HemingAssociated Namesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
López Santos, AntonioEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Laurence, Dan H.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lerner, Alan Jaysecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lesser, AntonEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
MacLean, RebeccaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Manis, JimEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mészöly, Dezsősecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McCowen, Alecsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Michels-Wenz, UrsulaEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Michelsen, Hans GünterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Misiołek, EdmundPrzedm.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moder, Jankosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mueller, HaraldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Munda, JožeContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Neuhaus, AndreaKommentatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
New, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Northcott, Kenneth J.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Palmer, GeoffreyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pennell, NicholasNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Piotrowski, KazimierzTł.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Redgrave, LynnReadersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Redgrave, MichaelReadersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rigg, Dianasecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ritzerfeld, HeleneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rudall, Nicholassecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Saba Sardi, FrancescoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sander, Ottosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sobieniowski, FlorianTł.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Staudt, RolfCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Topolski, FeliksIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Trebitsch, SiegfriedTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tydeman, JohnDirectorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vittiglio, NicoleAdaptorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ward, Alfred CharlesEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whitehouse, BenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whybrow, LucyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whyte, LauraNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Бернард Шоуsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Dedication
First words
The Daughter: I'm getting chilled to the bone.
Quotations
Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and you're driving at another.
It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.
The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it.
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.
Mrs. Higgins. You certainly are a pretty pair of babies, playing with your live doll.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
3150082048 1974 Reclam
3150092663 1990 Reclam Fremdsprachentexte 9266 (Rote Reihe)
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Classic Literature. Drama. Fiction. HTML:

In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion a phonetician believes the power of speech is such that he can introduce a Cockney flower girl to polite society after careful language and etiquette training, and no one will discern her true roots. The professor and the flower girl grown close, but after her successful debut she rejects the professor and his overbearing ways for a poor gentleman.

The most famous adaptation of the play is the 1964 film My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

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