Heartbreak House

Described by his contemporaries as a “master of impeccable prose,” “the great exploder of complacency,” and a “showman of ideas,” George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) is today regarded as the most important British comic dramatist since Cosgreve. Heartbreak House , however, is one of Shaw’s more somber plays. An allegory that examines apathy, confusion, and lack of purpose as causes of major world problems, the drama features larger-than-life characters who represent evils of the modern world. Initially pessimistic, the play nevertheless ends on an optimistic note.
Written in 1913 and first produced in 1923, Heartbreak House , with its portrayal of a bored and frustrated upper-middle class, is a prime example of Shaw’s unconventional and provocative literary style.