George Bernard Shaw published 6 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 18 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection, 33 plays and 28 other books, beginning with An Unsocial Socialist (1887). The best-known is Pygmalion (1913).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with George Bernard Shaw
Standalone novels in order
An Unsocial Socialist (1887)
Cashel Byron's Profession (1899)
The Revolutionist’s Handbook (1902)
Love Among the Artists (1907)
The Irrational Knot (1911)
Selected One Act Plays (1964)
Novellas in order
The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (1932)
Short story collections in order
Short Stories, Scraps & Shavings (1932)
Non-fiction in order
Art Corner [review of Shelley's the Cenci] (1885)
The Perfect Wagnerite (1898)
The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1904)
An Essay on Going to Church (1922)
Table-talk of G. B. S (1925)
Major Critical Essays (1930)
Music in London 1890-94 (1931)
Our Theatres in the Nineties (1931)
Pen Portraits and Reviews (1931)
Political Madhouse in America and Nearer Home (1933)
London Music in 1888-89 as Heard by Corno Di Bassetto (1937)
Everybody's Political What's What (1944)
Sixteen Self Sketches (1949)
How to Become a Musical Critic (1960)
The Road to Equality (1971)
The Great Composers (1978)
Bernard Shaw, the Diaries, 1885-1897 (1986)
Poetry in order
Misalliance, the Dark Lady of the Sonnets, and Fanny's First Play. with a Treatise on Parents and Children (1926)
Plays in order
Arms and the Man (1898)
Caesar and Cleopatra (Mar 1899)
Man and Superman (1903)
Candida (1905)
Mrs. Warren's Profession (1905)
Dramatic Opinions and Essays with an Apology (1906)
The Devil's Disciple (1906)
The Philanderer (1906)
Widowers' Houses (1906)
You Never Can Tell (1906)
John Bull's Other Island (1909)
Major Barbara (1909)
Press Cuttings (1909)
Getting Married (1911)
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets (1911)
The Doctor's Dilemma (1911)
The Man of Destiny (1912)
Pygmalion (1913)
Androcles and the Lion (1914)
Heartbreak House (1919)
Back to Methuselah (1921)
Saint Joan (1924)
Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, and Playlets of the War (1930)
The Apple Cart (1930)
Prefaces (1934)
The Millionairess (1936)
In Good King Charles' Golden Days (1939)
Shakes Versus Shav (1949)
Don Juan in Hell (1951)
The Collected Screenplays of Bernard Shaw (1980)
Misalliance (1992)
Other books in order
The Impossibilities of Anarchism (1893)
A Degenerate's View of Nordau (1895)
Socialism For Millionaires (1900)
The Unprotected Child and the Law (1900)
The Admirable Bashville (1907)
The Common Sense of Municipal Trading (1908)
Fanny's First Play (1911)
Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions: Volume Ii (1918)
Misalliance, with a Treatise on Parents & Children (1919)
The Doctor's Dilema, Getting Married and the Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet (1920)
Translations and Tomfooleries (1926)
Spoken English and Broken English (1928)
Essays in Fabian Socialism (1932)
The Black Girl in Search of God (1934)
William Morris as Iknew Him (1936)
Geneva (1939)
The Black Girl in Search of God and Some Lesser Tales (1946)
The Crime of Imprisonment (1946)
Complete Plays (1948)
Rules for Directors (1949)
The Quintessence of G.b.s (1949)
Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1952)
Selected Prose (1952)
My Dear Dorothea (1956)
The Rationalization of Russia (1964)
Bernard Shaw's Book Reviews (1991)
Bernard Shaw on Cinema (1997)
Too True to Be Good (2020)
Film and TV adaptations
- Arms and the Man (1958)Film · from Arms and the Man
- Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)Film · from Caesar and Cleopatra
- The Devil's Disciple (1959)Film · from The Devil's Disciple
- Happy End (1929)Film · from Major Barbara
- Pygmalion (1937)Film · from Pygmalion
- Pygmalion (1938)Film · from Pygmalion
- My Fair Lady (1964)Film · from Pygmalion
- Totalmente Demais (2015)TV · from Pygmalion
- The Millionairess (1960)Film · from The Millionairess
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About George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and was awarded the 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
George Bernard Shaw FAQ
- How many books has George Bernard Shaw written?
- George Bernard Shaw published 6 novels, 1 novella, 1 short story collection, 18 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection, 33 plays and 28 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read George Bernard Shaw's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Pygmalion.
- What is George Bernard Shaw's last book?
- Sixteen Self Sketches (1949).
- What is George Bernard Shaw's most famous book?
- Pygmalion (1913) is George Bernard Shaw's most widely read book.
- Does George Bernard Shaw write under a pen name?
- Yes: George Bernard Shaw has also published as Bernard Shaw.
- Which George Bernard Shaw books have been adapted?
- 6 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Arms and the Man (film, 1958), Caesar and Cleopatra (film, 1945), The Devil's Disciple (film, 1959) and Major Barbara (as Happy End, film, 1929).
- Can I read George Bernard Shaw's books for free?
- Yes. 39 books by George Bernard Shaw are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like George Bernard Shaw
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.