Shaw's Settings: Gardens and Libraries

187 Pages·2013·7.318 MB·English

by  Tony Jason Stafford

Shaw’s Settings
The Florida Bernard Shaw Series
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Shaw’s Settings
Gardens and Libraries
•
Tony Jason Stafford
Foreword by R. F. Dietrich
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Extracts from Bernard Shaw’s published works reproduced courtesy of The Society of
Authors, on behalf of the Estate of Bernard Shaw.
Copyright 2013 by Tony Jason Stafford
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America. This book is printed on Glatfelter Natures Book,
a paper certified under the standards of the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). It is a
recycled stock that contains 30 percent post-consumer waste and is acid free.
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
18 17 16 15 14 13 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stafford, Tony Jason.
Shaw’s settings : gardens and libraries / Tony Jason Stafford : foreword by R. F. Dietrich.
pages cm.—(The Florida Bernard Shaw series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-4498-9 (alk. paper)
1. Shaw, Bernard, 1856–1950—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Libraries in literature.
3. Gardens in literature. I. Dietrich, Richard F., 1936- II. Title. III. Series: Florida Bernard
Shaw series.
PR5367.S73 2013
822.’912—dc23 2013015094
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
Funding to assist in publication of this book
was generously provided by the
David and Rachel Howie Foundation

To my children, Michele Stafford Levy, Heather Stafford Villalon,
Katherine Stafford Sanchez, Misty Stafford Yard, and Tony J. Stafford, II;
their spouses; and my grandchildren.
My special thanks to Marti Knobloch for her loving support.

Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. Widowers’ Houses: “Life Here Is a Perfect Idyll” 9
2. Mrs. Warren’s Profession: The Walled Gardens 23
3. Arms and the Man: “I Took Care to Let Them Know
That We Have a Library” 34
4. Candida: A Wall of Bookshelves and the Best View
of the Garden 44
5. Man and Superman: Books on a Garden Table 55
6. Major Barbara: The Salvation Army’s “Garden”
and Cusins’s Books 74
7. Misalliance: Gardens and Books as the Means to
New Dramatic Forms 87
8. Heartbreak House: “A Long Garden Seat on the West” 102
9. Back to Methuselah: The Original Garden and a Library Too 111
Conclusion 125
Notes 131
Bibliography 157
Index 163