Arms and the Man

"What use are cartridges in battle? I always carry chocolate instead."Cheered by some and booed by others on opening night in 1894, Arms and the Man became the first success of Bernard Shaw's dramatic career that spanned six decades and brought him world-wide renown. In this perennially popular anti-romantic comedy, a fugitive enemy soldier bursts into the bedroom of a starry-eyed young woman; he then proceeds to disabuse her and those around her of the bogus romanticised ideals they have constructed around love, war, and social status.This edition includes Shaw's definitive text and provides the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the play to date. It radically re-examines Shaw's sources, the drafts of the play, its themes and self-fictionalising techniques, and locates it in the theatrical milieu that Shaw sought to subvert and revolutionize.

“'Published with the approval of the Shaw estate, these fresh and up-to-date editions are sure to be of interest to both old Shavians and newcomers to his work.'”

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'The competence and breadth of Wearing's research...make this edition an obvious choice for classroom teaching and pleasure reading. Moreover, it should be the one of record for any serious scholar.' Shaw: The Annual Bernard Shaw Studies (September 2009)

J.P. Wearing, Ph.D, is Professor Emeritus of English, University of Arizona. Among his thirteen books are: G.B. Shaw: An Annotated Bibliography of Writings About Him: Volume I: 1871-1930; Bernard Shaw and Nancy Astor: Selected Correspondence of Bernard Shaw and the sixteen-volume The London Stage 1890-1959. He has held a Killam Post-doctoral Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

'This Shaw play must be one of the funniest written in the last 100 years. It has you running breathlessly to keep up with its logic ' The Guardian. Arms and the Man has proved to one of Shaw's most popular plays, challenging notions of romance, bravery, cowardice, patriotism, and loyalty. This is a fresh, up to date and accessibly written critical edition for literature and drama students. An authoritative and academically rigorous edition, edited by leading Shaw scholar, J.P Wearing, under the guidance of the advisor to the Shaw Estate, Len Connolly. Students will find a wealth of information to guide their studies: an extended introduction exploring theatrical and historical context, critical reactions, background on the author and stage history. It also includes Shaw's original Preface, and the play itself contains numerous notes and explanations throughout to aid the student's understanding.

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