He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books to English. Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright, as he had no desire for public honours, but he accepted it at his wife's behest. The former for his contributions to literature and the latter for his work on the film 'Pygmalion' (adaptation of his play of the same name). He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). Lawrence in a house now called Shaw's Corner. In 1898, Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. He wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. In these works Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.Īn ardent socialist, Shaw was angered by what he perceived to be the exploitation of the working class. Nearly all his plays address prevailing social problems, but each also includes a vein of comedy that makes their stark themes more palatable. Over the course of his life he wrote more than 60 plays. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama. George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, socialist, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics.

Saint john by george bernard shaw