Shaw's Settings

Picture the young George Bernard Shaw spending long days in the Reading Room of the British Museum, pursuing a self-taught education, all the while longing for the green landscapes of his native Ireland. It is no coincidence that gardens and libraries often set the scene for Shaw's plays, yet scholars have seldom drawn attention to the fact until now. Exposing the subtle interplay of these two settings as a key pattern throughout Shaw’s dramas, Shaw's Settings fills the need for a systematic stu