Pygmalion / My Fair Lady

While trying to figure out which book to select in my towering to be read pile, it hit me - I had never read Pygmalion! So last night I began reading Bernard Shaw's witty classic (free Kindle edition). I grew up watching My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. It is one of my favorite movies of all times! I rarely watch a movie before I read the book, however with old movies it's not the case since most of them I watched as a child with my mom and sister. I am so fortunate that they introduced me to old movies & a love of reading!! I now get to enjoy not only the movies but in cases like this, the book too. The same can't be said for most of the books & movies written & produced today but I reserve judgement for each one! LOL!

My Fair Lady 1964

This book is free for Kindle on Amazon

 

Title - Pygmalion

Author - Bernard Shaw

Written - 1912 / 1st published - 1914

Setting - London, England

Pages - 122 (Kindle Edition)

Characters - Henry Higgins / Eliza Doolittle (Colonel Pickering too)

 

Eliza is a lowly flower girl from the poor district of London. She runs into Higgins one dreary wet day while he is taking notes of different dialects he encounters on the busy London streets. She is trying to sell her posies. One thing leads to another and she ends up on his doorstep wanting to pay for phonetic lessons so she can learn to speak like a genteel lady and work in a real flower shop. Pickering offers to pay for all the lessons, Eliza's clothes and expenses if Higgins can teach her to speak like a lady and pass her off as a duchess at the ball at Buckingham Palace in 6 months time. That's when the fun begins. So far I've read 41% of the book. I had no idea how close the movie script kept to the play Shaw produced, I'm enjoying this book immensely!!! It's written in play form but not in the same way Shakespeare wrote his plays. It's not taxing to read even though it's not written like a novel. Higgins even calls Eliza all those funny names just like in the movie - guttersnipe is still my all time favorite name to call my best girlfriends. ;)

 

I also love when Higgins describes Eliza in the beginning of the story - "She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty." and then Eliza replies, " I ain't dirty! I washed my face and hands before I come, I did."

 



This is still my favorite movie cover!

 

Here are 3 great pictures from the movie -

 

 Eliza, Higgins & Pickering meet

 



The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain

"Come on, Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!"

(I love the calm look on Higgins face yet you know he is thinking.....did that just happen? Surely no!)

 

 

In case you don't like to read the free kindle classics here is one published by Bantam Books for $1.99 it also has Major Barbara another novel by Shaw included:

 

 

When I finish reading this book I'm definitely going to have to sit down for an evening of My Fair Lady!

"Mischief Managed" ~ Kelly