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First performed in 1913, “Pygmalion” is George Bernard’s Shaw’s play regarding two scholars of phonetics, Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering, trying to test their theories on an unsuspecting flower girl. When Higgins boasts he could pass anyone off as a lord or lady simply by teaching them to speak right, Pickering wagers that he can’t and offers to pay for the speech lessons of Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl. Eliza accepts the offer for speech lessons because she wants to lose her Cockney accent so she can get a job in a flower shop. A satire of the superficiality of distinctions between social classes, “Pygmalion” is one of Shaw’s most famous comedies, the subject of numerous stage productions. Forever immortalized by the multiple Academy award-winning motion picture “My Fair Lady”, this play is sure to endure as a dramatic classic for years to come. This edition includes the illustrations by May Wilson Preston which appeared in the first serialized American edition.

George Bernard Shaw is one of the most influential playwrights of the twentieth century. The collection «Pygmalion and Three Other Plays» contains his best works, which are known for their rapier wit, ideas of decency, and portrayal of human relationships. Shaw wanted his audiences to realize that people, regardless of race, gender, or class, were all human beings with the same needs as everyone else. «Pygmalion» is a modern retelling of the classic story of the same name. Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, tries to transform a lower-class cockney girl into a lady by teaching her to speak like a proper Englishwoman. What Higgins forgets, though, is that Eliza is a human being who only wants to be treated as such; in Higgins' mind, Eliza is a fun wager, a test of his abilities. When he thinks that he has won and turned Eliza into a fine lady, he becomes lonely and misses her vivacious personality. «Major Barbara,» «The Doctor's Dilemma,» and «Heartbreak House» all deal with different themes, but each play contains a unique play of words, blending comedy with feeling and heart to create a story which will make a large impression on the audiences' heart.