Pygmalion
Layered
Clever
Original

Pygmalion

Read the play that became the film My Fair Lady “I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else.” ― George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion In George Bernard Shaw's classic drama, Pygmalion, Professor Henry Higgins transforms a low-class flower-seller into a lady, all through changing the way she speaks. This funny, romantic and thought-provoking play is a classic work that should be read by all fans of Eliza Doolittle. Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes
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Reviews

Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris
5 stars
Apr 9, 2024

this had no business being this good

+4
Photo of Sarah Sammis
Sarah Sammis@pussreboots
5 stars
Apr 4, 2024

This play was of course the inspiration for My Fair Lady. I remember reading this book at the mall while I waited for my organ lessons.

Photo of Ned Summers
Ned Summers @nedsu
3 stars
Jan 31, 2024

I miss the theatre so much.

Photo of Katherine Yang
Katherine Yang@bookwormgirl910
4 stars
Mar 13, 2023

Vividly witty and charming. Higgins is frustratingly disagreeable at times, but this only serves to drive the sharp satire home. Read the postscript!

Photo of Prashanth Srivatsa
Prashanth Srivatsa@prashanthsrivatsa
4 stars
Feb 2, 2023

Classic in its true sense. Touching on Britain's early 20th century social nature with a free stroke of humour and prose. A really short and enjoyable read.

Photo of brianna
brianna@adansey
3 stars
Jan 22, 2023

lol this was for class but it was ok kinda funny

Photo of B
B@bdowd557
5 stars
Nov 22, 2021

The musical is absolutely amazing and so I decided to read the play to which it was based upon and thought it was absolutely marvelous. The ending, though different from the movie was also fantastic in it's own way. Eliza Doolittle is one of the strongest females I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. One cannot help but applaud her efforts to be seen as more than just a flower girl. She has a strong sense of who she is and who she wants to be. Professor Higgins may be a tyrannical, bossy human being, but that's one of the things I love about the relationship he has with poor Eliza. They are both strong characters that could never be together because no matter how different they each proclaim they are, they really aren't. The saying "opposites attract and like forces repel" holds true. Eliza and Higgins are both very stubborn characters, fighting to maintain their independence.

Photo of Анастасия Розова
Анастасия Розова@rozova_n
4 stars
Nov 18, 2021

*Read for class. "Galatea never does quite like Pygmalion: his relation to her is too godlike to be altogether agreeable." Is Higgins an annoying bastard? Yes. Does Eliza gets humiliated a lot? Yes. Did I like the play anyway? Also yes. I liked the way she changed and the way she dared! Not gonna make examples, but you probably know what I mean if you've read it. Also the last paragraph (I quoted it) of the book about Galathea and the whole myth on it's own... Marvelous.

Photo of adria
adria@likeareader
5 stars
Nov 9, 2021

Simply delightful. Disarmingly funny and surprisingly honest, this play captured me from the first page. The conflict between Eliza and Higgins amused me to no end. Their constant banter is bound to remain in my memory for quite some time, and I shall remember it fondly.

Photo of Gabriela Roxana
Gabriela Roxana @shiftyreads
5 stars
Sep 1, 2021

This is truly one of the best plays I have ever read. 💖

Photo of Jane Krauss
Jane Krauss@ladyjane95
4 stars
Aug 28, 2021

I read this for school

Photo of Katerina Thorson
Katerina Thorson@asipofcozy
4 stars
Aug 26, 2021

I found this play really interesting! A victorian age where you must wonder what Shaw was truly trying to get across. I found myself analyzing the text and noticing a hint of feminism; however, it isn't as noticeable as in most plays during this age. It's interesting how Mr. Higgins believes his ideas are more right than anyone else's - he believes that he is "helping" however, he is just making a photo copy of himself whether that was intended or not. It was great!

Photo of Mal
Mal @bxrlieo
5 stars
Feb 23, 2025
Photo of shev
shev@excerpts_by_shev
3 stars
Jan 18, 2025
Photo of asmo
asmo@butchkeito
3 stars
Oct 5, 2024
Photo of felicity hu
felicity hu@feli77
3.5 stars
Aug 7, 2024
Photo of Hayaan Imam Rizvi
Hayaan Imam Rizvi@hayaanrizvi
3 stars
Sep 23, 2023
Photo of Phoebe
Phoebe@phoeberobinson
5 stars
Jan 22, 2023
+3
Photo of Lauren Hendrix
Lauren Hendrix@luckylynx
4 stars
Aug 31, 2022
Photo of Paige Wanner
Paige Wanner@turntopaige22
4 stars
May 22, 2022
Photo of Zeke Taylor
Zeke Taylor@zt1230
4 stars
May 1, 2022
Photo of ana
ana@raineyday
5 stars
Apr 11, 2022
Photo of Sarah Escorsa
Sarah Escorsa@shrimpy
4 stars
Mar 8, 2022
Photo of Tim Sedov
Tim Sedov@timsedov
5 stars
Jun 10, 2024

Highlights

Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris

"Eliza has no use for the foolish romantic tradition that all women love to be mastered, if not actually bullied and beaten."

Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris

The rest of the story need not be shown in action, and indeed, would hardly need telling if our imaginations were not so enfeebled by their lazy dependence on the ready-makes and reach-me-downs of the ragshop in which Romance keeps its stock of "happy endings" to misfit all stories.

Page 18
Photo of Jasmine
Jasmine@jasmine

❝ The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manners for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is good as another. ❞

Just finished reading Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and God! how beautifully it is written.

Photo of Jasmine
Jasmine@jasmine

❝All are peering out gloomingly at the rain, except one man with his back turned to the rest, wholly preoccupied with a notebook in which he is writing.❞ ~Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw

This gentleman holding notebook and writing... Lord have mercy.🤎✨

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