Arms and the Man

di Shaw Bernard (Autore)

Library of Alexandria, 2026

What if the soldier hiding in your bedroom made more sense than the hero you planned to marry? In this sharp comedy, chocolate proves more useful than romantic ideals. Set during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man introduces Raina Petkoff, a young Bulgarian woman who cherishes noble visions of love and battle. Her fiancé, Sergius, seems to embody them. Then Captain Bluntschli, a Swiss professional soldier fleeing combat, climbs into her room and offers a distinctly less glamorous account of military life. Bluntschli's preference for chocolates over ammunition unsettles Raina's assumptions, but the comedy reaches beyond a clash between a dreamer and a realist. Courtship, household rank, and the performance of respectability all come under scrutiny. First staged in 1894, the play still delights through brisk dialogue and reversals that expose the distance between what people profess and what they want. Shaw makes serious questions about courage and honesty part of the fun, rather than a pause in it. What readers find inside: An unexpected visitor - Bluntschli's search for shelter brings the realities of war into Raina's protected world. Romance under pressure - Raina and Sergius discover how difficult it is to live up to their own lofty declarations. Military satire - Practical experience challenges the glamour surrounding battlefield glory. Class and ambition - Servants and employers reveal the tensions beneath polite household manners. Wit with consequences - Comic misunderstandings and candid exchanges force characters to reconsider themselves and one another. A rewarding choice for readers of classic stage comedy, lovers of anti-war satire, and anyone drawn to romances in which honesty disrupts appearances. Step into the Petkoff household and discover what happens when heroic fantasies meet a soldier determined to survive.

• Autore: Shaw Bernard
• Anno edizione: 2026
• Editore: Library of Alexandria
• Formato: EPUB3 con Adobe DRM
• Lingua: Inglese
• Compatibilità: Tutti i dispositivi (eccetto Kindle)
• Layout: Reflowable
• EAN: 9781808304002