Shavian Maven

It's the 155th birthday of George Bernard Shaw.  Let me take this occasion to recommend Shaw The Dramatist by Louis Crompton, a book-length study.  It's not particularly well known--it was published in 1969 and I just happened to find it at my local library.  Crompton was an academic and this was put out by the University of Nebraska Press.

Crompton goes through Shaw's entire career as a playwright, but concentrates on eleven major works in chronological order:  Arms And The Man, Candida, The Devil's Disciple, Caesar And Cleopatra, Man And Superman, Major Barbara, The Doctor's Dilemma, Pygmalion, Heartbreak House, Back To Methusaleh and Saint Joan.

I've read a fair amount of analysis of GBS, and it's generally not impressive.  Perhaps that's because Shaw's plays are already so discursive that analysis often seems superfluous. (And if the plays aren't enough, there are Shaw's lengthy prefaces.)

But Crompton represents the best sort of scholarly work--learned yet easy to read.  His explications of the plays are consistent and intelligent, and, more important, grounded in an understanding of the biographical, sociological, historical and philosophical background of Shaw.

The plays are still the thing, but if you need a companion, I don't know if you could do better.