Bernard Shaw

September 1, 1988
Hyperactive art and music critic, Fabian socialist, bicyclist, subversive open-air lecturer, vegetarian, expert on boxing, failed novelist: Shaw led a multifaceted existence during his first 22 years in London. Holroyd, biographer of Lytton Strachey and Augustus John, produces here a literary biography of the highest ordergenerous, poised, utterly fascinating, Shavian in its unmasking of Shaw's deceits, attuned to G.B.S.'s complexity. Shaw was raised in Dublin in a bizarre menage a troishis father a drunk, his mother captivated by musical impresario George Lee. From these early relationships would flow the playwright's portrayals of women as huntresses, his obsession with the themes of illegitimacy and hypocrisy. In this first installment in a projected three-volume life, Holroyd discusses the early plays perceptively and admirably unravels Shaw's many romantic affairs, to culminate when this woman-tamer was himself tamed by wealthy Charlotte Payne-Townsend, whom he married at age 41. This is a Shaw for our time. Photos. BOMC featured selection; Reader's Subscription alternate.

September 1, 1989
Holroyd begins the second volume of his massive biography with Shaw's mariage blanc to Irish heiress Charlotte Payne-Townsend. These years, which saw the composition and increasing popularity of Caesar and Cleopatra , Man and Superman , Major Barbara , The Doctor's Dilemma and Pygmalion , also included the playwright's theatrical association with Harley Granville-Barker. Holroyd examines Shaw's battles with censorship; his debates with H. G. Wells; his continuing activities for the Fabian Society; jaunts abroad with Charlotte, and love affairs by correspondence with Ellen Terry and Stella Campbell. By the end of WW I, the most famous writer in Britain was also a reformer, philosopher and preacher ``to whom no one listened.'' As he did in volume one, The Search for Love , Holroyd arranges chapters by theme rather than strict chronology, focusing on the content, meaning, intent, treatment and reception of Shaw's writings and their connections with what was happening in his personal life. Holroyd quotes extensively from Shaw's friends and associates, from contemporary reviews and--best of all--from GBS himself. Contrasted to Shaw's sparkling, energetic style, Holroyd's own contribution seems disappointingly pedestrian. Photos not seen by PW .