Literary figure George Bernard Shaw. Bernard Shaw - biography, information, personal life. Bernard Shaw and Ibsen

SHAW, GEORGE BERNARD(Shaw, George Bernard) (1856–1950), Irish playwright, philosopher and prose writer, an outstanding critic of his time and the most famous - after Shakespeare - playwright who wrote in the English language. Born 26 July 1856 in Dublin. His father, having failed in business, became addicted to alcohol; the mother, disillusioned with the marriage, became interested in singing. Shaw did not learn anything in the schools he attended, but he learned a lot from the books of Charles Dickens, W. Shakespeare, D. Bunyan, the Bible, and Arabic tales Thousand and One Nights, as well as listening to operas and oratorios in which his mother sang, and contemplating the paintings in the Irish National Gallery.

At the age of fifteen, Shaw got a job as a clerk in a land sales company. A year later he became cashier and held this position for four years. Unable to overcome his disgust for such work, at the age of twenty he went to London to live with his mother, who, after divorcing her husband, earned her living by giving singing lessons.

Shaw, already in his youth, decided to make a living from literary work, and although the articles sent out returned to him with depressing regularity, he continued to besiege the editors. Only one of his articles was accepted for publication, paying the author fifteen shillings - and that was all that Shaw earned with his pen in nine years. Over the years, he wrote five novels, which were rejected by all English publishing houses.

In 1884 Shaw joined the Fabian Society and soon became one of its most brilliant speakers. At the same time, he improved his education in the reading room of the British Museum, where he met the writer W. Archer (1856–1924), who introduced him to journalism. After working for some time as a freelance correspondent, Shaw received a position as a music critic in one of the evening newspapers. After six years of music reviewing, Shaw worked as a theater critic for the Saturday Review for three and a half years. During this time, he published books about H. Ibsen and R. Wagner. He also wrote plays (collection Plays pleasant and unpleasant – Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant, 1898). One of them, Mrs Warren's profession (Mrs. Warren's Profession, first staged in 1902), was banned by censorship; another, Wait and see (You Never Can Tell, 1895) was rejected after several rehearsals; third, Weapons and people (Arms and the Man, 1894), no one understood at all. In addition to those mentioned, the collection includes plays Candida (Candida, 1895), Chosen One of Fate (The Man of Destiny, 1897), Widower's house (Widower's Houses, 1892) and Heartbreaker (The Philanderer, 1893). Directed in America by R. Mansfield The Devil's Disciple (The Devil's Disciple, 1897) was Shaw's first play to be a box office success.

Shaw wrote plays, reviews, acted as a street speaker, promoting socialist ideas, and, in addition, was a member of the municipal council of St. Pancras, where he lived. Such overloads led to a sharp deterioration in health, and if not for the care and attention of Charlotte Payne-Townsend, whom he married in 1898, things could have ended badly. Shaw wrote plays during his long illness Caesar and Cleopatra (Caesar and Cleopatra, 1899) and (Captain Brassbound's Conversion, 1900), which the writer himself called a “religious treatise.” In 1901 The Devil's Disciple, Caesar and Cleopatra And Message from Captain Brasbound were published in the collection Three Plays for the Puritans (Three Plays for Puritans). IN Caesar and Cleopatra- Shaw's first play to feature real historical figures - the traditional idea of a hero and heroine is changed beyond recognition.

Having not succeeded in the path of commercial theater, Shaw decided to make drama a conductor of his philosophy, publishing the play in 1903 Man and superman (Man and Superman). However, the following year his time came. The young actor H. Granville-Barker (1877–1946), together with the entrepreneur J. E. Vedrenne, took over the management of London's Court Theater and opened a season, the success of which was ensured by Shaw's old and new plays - Candida, Wait and see, John Bull's Other Island (John Bull's Other Island, 1904), Man and superman, Major Barbara (Major Barbara, 1905) and Doctor in dilemma (The Doctor's Dilemma, 1906).

Now Shaw decided to write plays entirely devoid of action. The first of these debate plays, Marriage (Getting Married, 1908), had some success among intellectuals, the second, Misalliance (Misalliance, 1910), turned out to be a bit difficult for them too. Having given up, Shaw wrote an openly box-office trifle - Fanny's first play (Fanny's First Play, 1911), which ran on the stage of a small theater for almost two years. Then, as if to recoup this concession to the taste of the crowd, Shaw created a true masterpiece - Androcles and the lion (Androcles and the Lion, 1913), followed by the play Pygmalion (Pygmalion, 1914), directed by G. Beerbohm-Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, with Patrick Campbell as Eliza Dolittle.

During the First World War, Shaw was an exceptionally unpopular figure. The press, the public, his colleagues showered him with insults, but meanwhile he calmly finished the play The house where hearts break (Heartbreak House, 1921) and prepared his testament to the human race - Back to Methuselah (Back to Methuselah, 1923), where he put his evolutionist ideas into dramatic form. In 1924, fame returned to the writer; he gained worldwide recognition for his drama. Saint Joan (Saint Joan). In the eyes of Shaw, Joan of Arc is the herald of Protestantism and nationalism, and therefore the sentence passed on her by the medieval church and the feudal system is quite natural. In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he refused to receive.

The last play that brought Shaw success was Applecart (The Apple Cart, 1929), which opened the Malvern Festival in honor of the playwright.

In years when most people had no time for travel, Shaw visited the USA, USSR, South Africa, India, and New Zealand. In Moscow, where Shaw arrived with Lady Astor, he talked with Stalin. When the Labor Party, for which the playwright had done so much, came to power, he was offered nobility and a peerage, but he refused everything. At the age of ninety, the writer nevertheless agreed to become an honorary citizen of Dublin and the London parish of St. Pancras, where he lived in his youth.

Shaw's wife died in 1943. The writer spent his remaining years in seclusion in Eyot St. Lawrence (Hertfordshire), where he completed his last play at the age of ninety-two. Byant's Billions (Buoyant Billions, 1949). Until the end of his days, the writer maintained clarity of mind. Shaw died in Heyot St. Lawrence on November 2, 1950.

There were many ups and downs in the life and work of Bernard Shaw, but his plays will always amaze with their lightness, beauty, wit and philosophy.

The life of this talented writer began on July 26, 1856 in Dublin. At that time, Shaw Sr. was almost completely bankrupt and could not save his business. Therefore, Bernard's father drank a lot. Bernard's mother was a singer and saw no point in her marriage. Therefore, the boy’s life did not proceed in particularly good conditions. But Shaw wasn't too upset. He went to school, although he didn’t really learn anything there. But he really loved to read. The works of Dickens, Shakespeare, Bunyan, as well as Arabian fairy tales and the Bible left a mark and imprint on his life. His education and creativity were also influenced by the operas that his mother sang and the beautiful paintings in the National Gallery.

Shaw’s work did not immediately become so interesting and special. Initially, the guy didn’t really think about his literary talents. He needed to earn money for his living. Therefore, when Bernard was fifteen years old, he became a clerk in a company that sold land. Then, he worked as a cashier for four years. This work was so disgusting to Shaw that, in the end, he could not stand it and left for London. It was there that his mother lived at that time. She divorced her father and moved to the capital, where she worked as a singing teacher. By that time, Bernard was already thinking about his literary career and was trying to make a living by writing stories and essays. He constantly sent them to the editors, but the works were not accepted for publication. However, Bernard did not despair and still continued to write and send, hoping that one day his talent would be understood and his work would be published. Nine years of the writer's work were rejected. His article was accepted only once and they paid fifteen shillings for it. But the five novels he wrote during that time were rejected. But that didn't stop the show. While he was unable to become a writer, he decided to become a speaker. Therefore, in 1884, the young man joined the Fabian Society. There he was immediately noted as a brilliant speaker who knows how to deliver his speeches perfectly. But Shaw was not only engaged in oratory. He understood that a real writer must constantly improve his education. Therefore, he went to the reading room of the British Museum. It was in this museum that he met the writer Archer. This acquaintance became quite fateful for Shaw. Archer helped him advance in journalism and Bernard became a freelance correspondent. After this, he got a job as a music critic, where he worked for six years, and for another three and a half years he criticized various theatrical productions. At the same time, he wrote books about Ibsen and Wagner, and also created his own plays, but they remained misunderstood and rejected. For example, the play “Mrs. Warren's Profession” was banned by censors, “Wait and See” was rehearsed but never staged, and “Arms and the Man” turned out to be too incomprehensible for everyone. Of course, Shaw wrote other plays, but at that time, only the play “The Devil's Disciple,” which was staged in 1897, received wide success.

In addition to plays, Shaw wrote various reviews and was also a street speaker. By the way, he promoted socialist ideas. Shaw was also a member of the St. Pancras County Council. As you can understand, it was in this district that he lived. Shaw's character was such that he always gave his fullest to everything. That is why his body constantly suffered various overloads and his health deteriorated. Everything could have been very bad, but at that time Shaw already had his wife Charlotte and Payne-Townsend next to him. She looked after and took care of her talented husband until he began to recover. During his illness, Shaw wrote such plays as Caesar and Cleopatra, Message from Captain Brasbound" He considered “Conversion” a religious treatise, and in “Caesar and Cleopatra”, readers could see that the classical images of the protagonist and the main character were changed so that they could hardly be recognized.

At some point, Shaw felt that commercial theater was not suitable for him, so he decided to become a playwright and wrote the play “Man and Superman.” But in 1903, everything changed when the young actor Granville-Barker and businessman Aedrenn began to manage the Mole Theater in London. It was then, in this theater, that Shaw’s plays were staged: “Candida”, “Wait and see”, “ John Bull's Other Island», « Man and superman", "Major Barbara" and " Doctor in dilemma" The new management made the right decision and, thanks to Shaw’s plays, the season was a resounding success. Shaw then wrote several discussion plays, but they turned out to be too complex for intellectuals. For several years, the show created light plays for the people, and then two masterpieces appeared that amazed and surprised. These were the plays "Androcles and the Lion" and "Pygmalion".

During the First World War, Shaw fell out of love again. He was criticized and insulted, but the writer did not pay attention to it at all. Instead of being angry and worried, he wrote the play “Heartbreak House.” Then came 1924, when the writer was again recognized and loved for his drama “Saint Joan”. In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but he refused it, considering the prize false and meaningless. Shaw's last successful play was The Apple Cart. In the thirties, Shaw traveled a lot. He visited the USA, USSR, South Africa, India, New Zealand, etc.

Shaw's wife died in 1943. Shaw spent the last years of his life in a secluded house in Hertfordshire. He completed his last play at the age of ninety-two, remaining lucid, and died on November 2, 1950.

Born 26 July 1856 in Dublin. His father, having failed in business, became addicted to alcohol; the mother, disillusioned with the marriage, became interested in singing. Shaw did not learn anything in the schools he attended, but he learned a lot from the books of Charles Dickens, W. Shakespeare, D. Bunyan, the Bible, the Arabian tales of One Thousand and One Nights, as well as listening to operas and oratorios in which his mother sang, and contemplating paintings in the Irish National Gallery.

In 1884 Shaw joined the Fabian Society and soon became one of its most brilliant speakers. At the same time, he improved his education in the reading room of the British Museum, where he met the writer W. Archer (1856–1924), who introduced him to journalism. After working for some time as a freelance correspondent, Shaw received a position as a music critic in one of the evening newspapers. After six years of music reviewing, Shaw worked as a theater critic for the Saturday Review for three and a half years. During this time, he published books about H. Ibsen and R. Wagner. He also wrote plays (the collection Pleasant and Unpleasant Plays - Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant, 1898). One of them, Mrs. Warren's Profession, first staged in 1902, was banned by censorship; the other, You Never Can Tell (1895) was rejected after several rehearsals; the third, Arms and the Man ( Arms and the Man, 1894), no one understood at all. In addition to those named, the collection included the plays Candida (Candida, 1895), The Man of Destiny (1897), Widower's Houses, 1892 and Heartbreaker ( The Philanderer, 1893). Staged in America by R. Mansfield, The Devil's Disciple (1897) is Shaw's first play to be a box office success.

Shaw wrote plays, reviews, acted as a street speaker, promoting socialist ideas, and, in addition, was a member of the municipal council of St. Pancras, where he lived. Such overloads led to a sharp deterioration in health, and if not for the care and attention of Charlotte Payne-Townsend, whom he married in 1898, things could have ended badly. During a protracted illness, Shaw wrote the plays Caesar and Cleopatra (1899) and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1900), which the writer himself called a “religious treatise.” In 1901, The Devil's Disciple, Caesar and Cleopatra and the Conversion Captain Brasbound were published in the collection Three Plays for Puritans. In Caesar and Cleopatra, Shaw's first play featuring real historical figures, the traditional idea of a hero and heroine is changed beyond recognition.

Having not succeeded in the path of commercial theater, Shaw decided to make drama a vehicle for his philosophy, publishing the play Man and Superman in 1903. However, the following year his time came. The young actor H. Granville-Barker (1877–1946), together with the entrepreneur J. E. Vedrenne, took over the management of London's Court Theater and opened the season, the success of which was ensured by old and new plays by Shaw - Candide, We'll have to wait and see, John Bull's Other Island (John Bull's Other Island, 1904), Man and Superman, Major Barbara (Major Barbara, 1905) and The Doctor's Dilemma, 1906.

Now Shaw decided to write plays entirely devoid of action. The first of these discussion plays, Getting Married (1908), had some success among intellectuals, the second, Misalliance (1910), proved a little difficult for them too. Having given up, Shaw wrote an openly box-office trifle - Fanny's First Play, 1911, which ran on the stage of a small theater for almost two years. Then, as if recouping for this concession to the taste of the crowd, Shaw created a true masterpiece - Androcles and Androcles and the Lion (1913), followed by Pygmalion (1914), directed by G. Beerbohm-Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, starring Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle.

During the First World War, Shaw was an exceptionally unpopular figure. The press, the public, and his colleagues showered him with insults, but meanwhile he calmly finished the play Heartbreak House (1921) and prepared his testament to the human race - Back to Methuselah (1923), where he put it into dramatic form. form their evolutionist ideas. In 1924, fame returned to the writer; he gained worldwide recognition with the drama Saint Joan. In the eyes of Shaw, Joan of Arc is the herald of Protestantism and nationalism, and therefore the sentence passed on her by the medieval church and the feudal system is quite natural. In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he refused to receive.

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The last play to bring Shaw success was The Apple Cart (1929), which opened the Malvern Festival in honor of the playwright.

Shaw's wife died in 1943. The writer spent his remaining years in seclusion in Eyot St. Lawrence (Hertfordshire), where, at the age of ninety-two, he completed his last play, Buoyant Billions (1949). Until the end of his days, the writer maintained clarity of mind. Shaw died in Heyot St. Lawrence on November 2, 1950.

George Bernard Shaw. Born July 26, 1856 in Dublin (Ireland) - died November 2, 1950 in Hertfordshire (England). English playwright and novelist of Irish descent, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and one of the most famous Irish literary figures. Public figure (Fabian socialist, supporter of the reform of English writing). One of the founders of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The second (after Shakespeare) most popular playwright in the English theater.

The only person awarded both the Nobel Prize in Literature (1925, “For a work marked by idealism and humanism, for sparkling satire, which is often combined with exceptional poetic beauty”), and an Oscar Award (1938, for the screenplay of the film Pygmalion) ). Active promoter of vegetarianism.

George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin on July 26, 1856, the son of George Shaw, a grain merchant, and Lucinda Shaw, a professional singer. He had two sisters, Lucinda Frances, a stage singer, and Elinor Agnes, who died of tuberculosis at age 21.

But the education system was repeatedly criticized by Shaw for focusing on mental rather than spiritual development. The author especially criticized the system of physical punishment at school. At fifteen he became a clerk. The family did not have the means to send him to university, but his uncle's connections helped him get a job at Townsend's fairly well-known real estate agency.

One of Shaw's duties was to collect rent from the inhabitants of the Dublin slums, and the sad impressions of these years were subsequently embodied in "Widower's Houses".

He was, in all likelihood, a fairly capable clerk, although the monotony of the job bored him. He learned to keep accounting books neatly, and also to write in quite legible handwriting. Everything written in Shaw's handwriting (even in his advanced years) was easy and pleasant to read. This served Shaw well later, when he became a professional writer: typesetters had no trouble with his manuscripts.

When Shaw was 16 years old, his mother ran away from home with her lover and daughters. Bernard decided to stay with his father in Dublin. He received an education and became an employee in a real estate office. He did this work for several years, although he did not like it.

In 1876, Shaw went to his mother in London. The family greeted him very warmly. During this time he visited public libraries and museums. He began to study intensively in libraries and created his first works, and later wrote a newspaper column dedicated to music. However, his early novels did not become successful until 1885, when he became known as a creative critic.

In the first half of the 1890s, he worked as a critic for the London World magazine, where he was replaced by Robert Hichens.

At the same time, he became interested in social democratic ideas and joined the Fabian Society, whose goal was to establish socialism through peaceful means. It was in this society that he met his future wife, Charlotte Payne-Townshend, whom he married in 1898. Bernard Shaw had connections on the side.

Bernard Shaw's first play was presented in 1892. At the end of the decade he had already become a famous playwright. He wrote sixty-three plays, as well as novels, criticism, essays, and more than 250,000 letters.

Shaw wrote five unsuccessful novels early in his career between 1879 and 1883. Later they were all published.

Shaw's first published novel was "Cough Byron's Profession"(1886), written in 1882. The main character of the novel is a wayward schoolboy who, together with his mother, emigrates to Australia, where he participates in fights for money. He returns to England for a boxing match. Here he falls in love with a smart and rich woman, Lydia Karya. This woman, attracted by animal magnetism, agrees to marriage, despite their different social status. Then it turns out that the main character is of noble birth and the heir to a large fortune. Thus, he becomes a deputy in Parliament and the married couple becomes an ordinary bourgeois family.

Novel "Not a socialist" published in 1887. It starts out describing a girls' school, but then focuses on a poor worker who is actually hiding his fortune from his wife. He is also an active fighter for the promotion of socialism. From this point on, the entire novel focuses on socialist themes.

Novel "Love Among the Artists" written in 1881, published in 1900 in the United States and in 1914 in England. In this novel, using Victorian society as an example, Shaw shows his views on art, romantic love and marriage.

"The Irrational Knot" is a novel written in 1880 and published in 1905. In this novel, the author condemns hereditary status and insists on the nobility of workers. The institution of marriage is called into question by the example of a noble woman and a worker who became rich from the invention of the electric motor. Their marriage breaks down due to the family members' inability to find common interests.

Shaw's first novel "Immaturity", written in 1879, was the last novel to be published. It describes the life and career of Robert Smith, an energetic young Londoner. Condemnation of alcoholism is the first message in the book, based on the author's family memories.

The show completely breaks with the prim Puritan morality that is still characteristic of a large part of the wealthy circles of English society. He calls things by their real names, considers it possible to depict any everyday phenomenon, and to a certain extent is a follower of naturalism.

Shaw began working on his first play "Widower's House" in 1885. After some time, the author refused to continue working on it and completed it only in 1892. The play was presented at the Royal Theater in London on December 9, 1892.

In the play Mrs. Warren's Profession (1893), a young girl learns that her mother receives income from brothels, and therefore leaves home to earn money by honest work.

Bernard Shaw's plays, like playwrights, incorporate the sharp humor that is exclusive to Victorian playwrights. Shaw began to reform the theater by introducing new themes and inviting audiences to ponder moral, political, and economic issues. In this he is close to the dramaturgy of Ibsen with his realistic drama, which he used to solve social problems.

As Shaw's experience and popularity increased, his plays became less focused on the reforms he advocated, but their entertainment value did not diminish. Works such as "Caesar and Cleopatra"(1898), Man and Superman (1903), Major Barbara (1905) and The Doctor in a Dilemma (1906) show the mature views of the author, who was already 50 years old.

Until the 1910s, Shaw was a fully formed playwright. New works such as Fanny's First Play (1911) and "Pygmalion"(1912), were well known to the London public.

In the most popular play, Pygmalion, based on a Greek myth in which a sculptor asks the gods to bring a statue to life, Pygmalion appears as professor of phonetics Higgins. His Galatea is street flower vendor Eliza Doolittle. The professor tries to correct the language of a girl who speaks Cockney. Thus, the girl becomes like a noble woman. By this, Shaw is trying to say that people are only different in appearance.

Shaw's views changed after the First World War, which he disapproved of. His first work written after the war was the play Heartbreak House (1919). A new Shaw appeared in this play - the humor remained the same, but his faith in humanism was shaken.

Shaw had previously supported a gradual transition to socialism, but now he saw a government led by a strongman. For him, dictatorship was obvious. At the end of his life, his hopes also died. Thus, in the play Buoyant Billions (1946-48), his last play, he says that one should not rely on the masses, who act as a blind crowd and can choose people like Hitler as their rulers.

In 1921, Shaw completed work on the pentalogy "Back to Methuselah", which includes five plays and begins in the Garden of Eden and ends a thousand years in the future. These plays argue that life is perfected through trial and error. Shaw himself considered these plays a masterpiece, but critics had a different opinion.

A play was written after Methuselah "Saint Joan"(1923), which is considered one of his best works. The idea of writing a work about Joan of Arc and her canonization appeared in 1920. The play gained worldwide fame and brought the author closer to the Nobel Prize (1921).

Shaw also has plays in the psychological genre, sometimes even touching the field of melodrama (“Candida”, etc.).

The author created plays until the end of his life, but only a few of them became as successful as his early works. The Apple Cart (1929) became the most famous play of this period. Later works, such as “Bitter But True,” “Broished” (1933), “The Millionairess” (1935) and “Geneva” (1935), did not receive widespread public recognition.

From July 21 to July 31, 1931, Bernard Shaw visited the USSR, where on July 29 he had a personal meeting with. In addition to the capital, Shaw visited the outback - the commune named after. Lenin (Irskaya commune) of the Tambov region, which was considered exemplary. Returning from the Soviet Union, Shaw said: “I am leaving the state of hope and returning to our Western countries - countries of despair... For me, an old man, it is a deep consolation, going to my grave, to know that world civilization will be saved... Here, in Russia, I am convinced that that the new communist system is capable of leading humanity out of the modern crisis and saving it from complete anarchy and destruction".

In an interview given in Berlin on the way home, Shaw praised Stalin as a politician: “Stalin is a very pleasant person and truly the leader of the working class... Stalin is a giant, and all Western figures are pygmies”.

And already in London on September 6, 1931, in his report on the topic of the trip, the playwright said: “In Russia there is no parliament or other nonsense like that. Russians are not as stupid as we are; It would be difficult for them to even imagine that there could be fools like us. Of course, the statesmen of Soviet Russia have not only a huge moral superiority over ours, but also a significant mental superiority.”.

Being a socialist in his political views, Bernard Shaw also became a supporter of Stalinism and the “other USSR.” So, in the preface to his play "On the rocks"(1933) he provides a theoretical basis for the OGPU repressions against the enemies of the people. In an open letter to the editor of the Manchester Guardian newspaper, Bernard Shaw calls information about the famine in the USSR (1932-1933) that appeared in the press a fake.

In a letter to the Labor Monthly newspaper, Bernard Shaw also openly sided with Stalin and Lysenko in the campaign against genetic scientists.

In recent years, the playwright lived in his own home and died at 94 from kidney failure. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered along with those of his wife.

Plays by Bernard Shaw:

One of two people in history (the other is Bob Dylan) to have been awarded both the Nobel Prize in Literature (1925, “For a work marked by idealism and humanism, for sparkling satire, which is often combined with exceptional poetic beauty”) and an Oscar "(1939, for the screenplay of the film "Pygmalion"). Active promoter of vegetarianism.

George Bernard Shaw - an outstanding Irish playwright and novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and one of the most famous Irish literary figures - was born in Dublin. July 26, 1856 in the family of George Shaw, a grain merchant, and Lucinda Shaw, a professional singer. He had two sisters: Lucinda Frances, a theater singer, and Elinor Agnes, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 21.

Shaw attended Wesley College in Dublin and grammar school. He received his secondary education in Dublin. At the age of eleven he was sent to a Protestant school, where he was, in his own words, the penultimate or last student. He called school the most harmful stage of his education. At fifteen he became a clerk. The family did not have the means to send him to university, but his uncle's connections helped him get a job at Townsend's fairly well-known real estate agency. One of Shaw's duties was to collect rent from the inhabitants of the Dublin slums, and the sad impressions of these years were subsequently embodied in "Widower's Houses". He was, in all likelihood, a fairly capable clerk, although the monotony of the job bored him. He learned to keep accounting books neatly, and also to write in quite legible handwriting. Everything written in Shaw's handwriting (even in his advanced years) was easy and pleasant to read.

In 1876 Shaw went to his mother in London. The family greeted him very warmly. During this time he visited public libraries and museums. He began to study intensively in libraries and created his first works, and later wrote a newspaper column dedicated to music. However, his early novels were not successful before 1885, when he became known as a creative critic.

In the first half of the 1890s worked as a critic for the London World magazine, where he was succeeded by Robert Hichens.

At the same time, he became interested in social democratic ideas and joined the Fabian Society, whose goal was to establish socialism through peaceful means. In this society he met Charlotte Payne-Townshend, whom he married in 1898. Bernard Shaw had connections on the side.

In recent years, the playwright lived in his own house in Hertfordshire (England) and died November 2, 1950 from renal failure. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered along with those of his wife.

Bernard Shaw's first play was presented in 1892. At the end of the decade he had already become a famous playwright. Shaw wrote sixty-three plays, as well as novels, criticism, essays, and more than 250,000 letters.

Shaw wrote five unsuccessful novels early in his career between 1879 and 1883. Later they were all published.

Shaw's first published novel was The Profession of Cough Byron ( 1886 ), written by in 1882. The novel “Not a Social Socialist” has been published in 1887. The novel “Love Among the Artists” was written in 1881, published in 1900 in the United States and in 1914 in England. In this novel, using Victorian society as an example, Shaw shows his views on art, romantic love and marriage.

"The Irrational Knot" is a novel written by in 1880 and published in 1905. In this novel, the author condemns hereditary status and insists on the nobility of workers.

Shaw's first novel, Immaturity, written in 1879, was the last novel to be published. It describes the life and career of Robert Smith, an energetic young Londoner. Condemnation of alcoholism is the first message in the book, based on the author's family memories.

Shaw began working on the first play, The Widower's House. in 1885. After some time, the author refused to continue working on it and only completed it in 1892. The play was presented at the Royal Theater in London December 9, 1892. In this play, Shaw gave a picture of the life of the London proletarians, remarkable in its realism. Very often, Shaw acts as a satirist, mercilessly ridiculing the ugly and vulgar aspects of English life, especially the life of bourgeois circles (“John Bull’s Other Island”, “Arms and the Man”, “How He Lied to Her Husband”, etc.).

In the play "Mrs. Warren's Profession" ( 1893 ) a young girl finds out that her mother receives income from brothels, and therefore leaves home to earn money by honest work.

As Shaw's experience and popularity increased, his plays became less focused on the reforms he advocated, but their entertainment value did not diminish. Works such as Caesar and Cleopatra ( 1898 ), "Man and Superman" ( 1903 ), "Major Barbara" ( 1905 ) and "Doctor in Dilemma" ( 1906 ), show the mature views of the author, who was already 50 years old.

Before 1910s Shaw was a fully formed playwright. New works such as Fanny's First Play ( 1911 ) and "Pygmalion" ( 1912 ), were well known to the London public.

Shaw's views changed after the First World War, which he disapproved of. His first work written after the war was the play Heartbreak House ( 1919 ). A new Shaw appeared in this play - the humor remained the same, but his faith in humanism was shaken.

Shaw had previously supported a gradual transition to socialism, but now he saw a government led by a strongman. For him, dictatorship was obvious. At the end of his life, his hopes also died. Thus, in the play Buoyant Billions, 1946-1948 ), his latest play, he says that one should not rely on the masses, who act like a blind crowd and can choose people like Hitler as their rulers.

In 1921 Shaw completed a five-play pentalogy, Back to Methuselah, that begins in the Garden of Eden and ends a thousand years in the future.

After "Methuselah" the play "Saint Joan" was written ( 1923 ), which is considered one of his best works. The idea of writing a work about Joan of Arc and her canonization appeared in 1920. The play gained worldwide fame and brought the author closer to the Nobel Prize ( 1925).

Shaw also has plays in the psychological genre, sometimes even touching the field of melodrama (“Candida”, etc.).

The author created plays until the end of his life, but only a few of them became as successful as his early works. "Apple Cart" ( 1929 ) became the most famous play of this period. Later works, such as “Bitter, but true”, “Bonded” ( 1933 ), "Millionaire" ( 1935 ) and "Geneva" ( 1935 ), did not receive wide public recognition.

Dramaturgy:

1885-1896 :
Plays Unpleasant, published in 1898)
"Widower's Houses" 1885 - 1892 )
"Heartbreaker" (The Philanderer, 1893 )
"Mrs. Warren's Profession" ( 1893-1894 )
Plays Pleasant, published in 1898 )
"Arms and Man" ( 1894 )
"Candida" (Candida, 1894-1895 )
"The Man of Destiny" 1895 )
“We'll wait and see” (You Never Can Tell, 1895-1896 )

1896-1904:
"Three Plays for Puritans"
"The Devil's Disciple" 1896-1897 )
"Caesar and Cleopatra" 1898 )
"Captain Brassbound's Conversion" 1899 )
"The Admirable Bashville; or, Constancy Unrewarded, 1901 )
"Sunday afternoon among the Surrey hills" ( 1888 )
"Man and Superman" 1901 - 1903 )
"John Bull's Other Island" 1904 )

1904 - 1910 :
"How He Lied to Her Husband" 1904 )
"Major Barbara" 1906 )
"The Doctor's Dilemma" 1906 )
"The Interlude at the Playhouse" 1907 )
"Getting Married" 1908 )
"The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet" 1909 )
Trifles and tomfooleries
"Passion, Poison and Petrifaction; or, the Fatal Gasogene, 1905 )
"Press Cuttings" 1909 )
"The Fascinating Foundling" 1909 )
"A Little Reality" (The Glimps of Reality, 1909 )
"Unequal Marriage" (Misalliance, 1910 )

1910-1919:
"The Dark Lady of the Sonnets" 1910 )
"Fanny's First Play" 1911 )
"Androcles and the Lion" 1912 )
"Overruled" 1912 )
"Pygmalion" 1912-1913
"Great Catherine" 1913 )
“The Music-cure” 1913 )
"O'Flaherty, Commander of the Order of Victoria" (O'Flaherty, V.C.,)
"The Inca of Perusalem" 1916 )
"Augustus Does His Bit" 1916 )
Annajanska, the Wild Grand Duchess 1917 )
"Heartbreak House" 1913-1919 )

1918-1931:
"Back to Methuselah" 1918-1920 )
Part I. “In the Beginning”
Part II. "The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas"
Part III. “It’s finished!” (The Thing Happens)
Part IV. "Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman"
Part V. “As Far as Thought Can Reach”
"Saint Joan" 1923 )
"The Apple Cart" 1929 )
“Bitter, but true” (Too True To Be Good, 1931 )

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