"There are two things necessary to salvation ...money and gunpowder" Major Barbara, Bernard Shaw's story of the conversion contest between the arms manufacturer Andrew Undershaft and his daughter, the Salvation Army Major, is a provocative dramatization of the relationship between money, power, and moral purpose. A landmark in the history of British theatre when first produced at the Royal Court in 1905, it remains strikingly relevant today, when recent history has repeatedly highlighted the power of the arms industry in shaping government policy, and globalization has accentuated the political and ethical issues of social welfare and international capital raised by the play. This edition includes Shaw's definitive text and provides the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the play to date. A lengthy Introduction traces the history of the text from manuscript drafts to the famous 1941 wartime film version starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison and on to modern stagings. It reveals Major Barbara as one of Shaw's most exciting and challenging plays for actors, directors, and readers.

萧伯纳（George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950）

英国戏剧家。生于爱尔兰首都都柏林。父亲是破落

贵族。母亲是很有才能的音乐家。他从1879年开始文学

活动，一生共写剧本五十多部（还有小说和其他著作）。

数量之多，在英国文学史上前无古人；他敢于无情地挑

破社会的脓疮、人性的伪装，所产生的惊世骇俗的力

量。也是英国文学史上前无古人的。他1925年获得诺贝

尔文学奖。其主要剧作有《华伦夫人的职业》、《康蒂

妲》、《魔鬼的门徒》、《人与超人》、《芭巴拉少

校》、《苹果车》、《真相毕露》等。他写的《易卜生

主义的精华》一书，是现代欧洲戏剧史上的一部重要论

著。

《芭巴拉少校》是萧伯纳戏剧中颇为精彩的一部，

典型地反映出萧伯纳戏剧的艺术特色――幽默和讽刺。

他特别喜欢运用的手法是，使剧中人物发出似非而是的

妙论，不仅使人笑，使人啼，而且促人深省，萧伯纳的

剧作，语言生动，机智、慑人心魄，是公认的英国口语

和对白的大师。