Pygmalion

By: Bernard Shaw

Narrated by: Anton Lesser, Lucy Whybrow, Geoffrey Palmer, full cast

Pygmalion remains one of the most popular stories, but mainly in the medium of the musical; the evergreen My Fair Lady. But much of the charm and wit comes from the words and timing in Shaw's original play. Here are the characters of Professor Higgins, his friend Colonel Pickering, and their charge, Eliza Doolittle.

This delightful comedy is presented in its original play version, with the extended narrations setting the background and concluding the drama.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2002 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

Great

Read this for school and it was really good for a book. Although sometimes the voices can get a bit annoying

Oh Eliza.

Eliza's voice tended to screechiness a bit too often for me. Good story, voiced like a radio play.

Better than 'My Fair Lady'

I've never cared for the movie 'My Fair Lady.' But Anton Lesser is one of my favorite actors, so I thought I'd give this a try. The story is quite different - and much, much better - than the movie. Anton Lesser portrays Henry Higgins as a younger man - perhaps in his 30's - so there is not the icky 'dirty old man' aspect that Rex Harrison conveyed. The ending is more satisfactory, as well. Very funny, well acted by the cast, and much better than the movie adaptation!

Classroom Use

I used this version for my high school senior English classroom. It was much better than having the students read it aloud, but it was missing parts from the play itself (even though it says it is unabridged). I don't know if that is an editor's issue with the version we use in class or how Shaw printed it. It was easy to figure out though.

Fantastic!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Amazing performance of this classic. Did you know this is the book upon which the moviee, My Fair Lady, is based?

What other book might you compare Pygmalion to and why?

There is no other book like this that I have ever read.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Funny and interesting performance!

Any additional comments?

I so enjoyed this performance!

Amazing Performance!

The voice actors in this dramatic reading were absolutely fantastic! (It's not simple "narration.") The actor who brought Alfred Doolittle to life was my favorite, though everyone read quite naturally. I highly recommend this version.

Savor the flavor

A delicious delight. A rare occasion for me to listen at 1x speed. A peek into the era in which upward social mobility (American style) is emerging, alongside disgusting crusty old ways. I was, however, let down by the last 30 minutes; hence the star deduction.

Performance really irritating

I finished this, but it wasn't easy. The performance of this story was really hard to endure.