Back to Methuselah

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is revered as one of the great British dramatists, credited not only with memorable works, but the revival of the then-suffering English theatre. Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, left mostly to his own devices after his mother ran off to London to pursue a musical career. He educated himself for the most part, and eventually worked for a real estate agent. This experience founded in him a concern for social injustices, seeing poverty and general unfairness afoot, and would go on to address this in many of his works. In 1876, Shaw joined his mother in London where he would finally attain literary success. "Back the Methuselah" is regarded as Science Fiction, and a sort of commentary on human destiny. It consists of a preface (An Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: "In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden)," "The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day," "The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170," "Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000," and "As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920."