Fanny's First Play

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 143K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Fanny's First Play by Bernard ShawAuthor: Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 1, 2004

Editor's review

Bernard Shaw's Fanny's First Play is a play-within-a-play that belongs to Project Gutenberg's English literature collection. Its strength lies in using a comic frame to discuss theatre criticism, family relations and social attitudes; the language is witty and the dialogue dense, making it well suited to reading aloud or reading by parts. As a public-domain e-text it is easy to obtain, and it suits theatre lovers, readers of English literature and newcomers who want a taste of Shaw's dramatic style. Rather than rushing after plot, begin with each character's stance and the irony in the dialogue, then return to the play's self-mocking treatment of the reviewing mechanism. Since the available material provides no detailed plot or edition information, treat it as a light sample of Shaw's drama and feel the stage presence through the rhythm of the dialogue rather than relying on outside guides. Readers who need to study the full arc of Shaw's career should use this small book as a supplement, not a core source.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Theatre readers interested in Bernard Shaw's plays and English comedy
Learners who want to practise reading English dialogue through scripts
Enthusiasts who need a public-domain short play for reading aloud or small-scale staging

Not a good fit for

Researchers who need detailed background notes and scholarly introductions
Readers who prefer continuous narrative fiction to dialogue-driven scripts
Readers who want a Chinese translation or a comparison with a staged version

Reading tips

Skim the cast list and scene notes first, then read by parts to feel the rhythm and irony of the dialogue.
Mark the passages discussing theatre criticism and family attitudes while reading, then look back at what the irony targets.
Read once to grasp the frame, then focus closely on the play-within-the-play that is reviewed.
If staging it, establish each character's stance first, then adjust pace and pauses to bring out the comedy.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read this book without any experience of reading drama?

Yes. The play moves through dialogue, and the scene directions are fairly brief. Look at the cast list and stage directions first, then read by parts; it is easier to enter the situation than silent reading. If a reviewing joke depends on unfamiliar cultural background, skip it for now and return after finishing the whole.

Is this play suitable for learning English?

It suits readers with some English already who want to practise dialogue and spoken rhythm. The play has many ironic and critical lines, which beginners may find convoluted; use a dictionary and read for the gist first, focusing on the tone of the dialogue rather than word-by-word translation.

Why is there no specific plot in the recommendation?

The available material gives only the author, classification, language and release information, with no plot summary. This recommendation therefore focuses on the play's form and ways of reading it, without character relationships or plot details; readers should rely on the actual text.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950 Author

Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright and critic. Public information about the details of his life is limited, yet his works have had a profound influence. The collection here contains 53 of his works, covering drama, criticism, and discursive essays. His representative works include Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Man and Superman, Candida, Caesar and Cleopatra, Major Barbara, and Arms and the Man. His plays often use witty, sharp dialogue to explore such issues as social class, gender relations, moral hypocrisy, and idealism, combining comic tension with argumentative force to form a distinctive style of drama of ideas. Shaw was skilled at presenting conflicts of ideas through exchanges between characters, turning the stage into a place of public discussion and exerting an important influence on the development of modern English-language drama.