Goerge Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was one of the most prolific writers of the modern theater. He invented the modern comedy of ideas, expounding on social and political problems with a razor-sharp tongue. He won the 1925 Nobel Prize for literature. Dan H. Laurence is series editor for the works of Shaw in Penguin. W. J. McCormack is professor of literary history at Goldsmith's College, London.