Bernard Shaw was twenty-four and Sidney Webb twenty-one when they met in October 1880 at a gathering of a debating club called the Zetetical Society. Having sympathetic interests, both men decided, after some personal and joint exploration, to devote their lives to improving the human condition. This collection of 140 annotated letters, 74 of which have never been published, documents the subsequent friendship and collaboration shared by Shaw, Webb, and Webb's wife Beatrice, throughout their lives.

The letters, written between 1883 and 1946, discuss the founding of the Fabian Society, the British Labour Party, the London School of Economics, and the New Statesman through the Boer, First, and Second World Wars. Fully annotated with headnotes and footnotes, this collection will expand the general view of Shaw the dramatist to incorporate Shaw the political activist and lifelong friend of the Webbs.

Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist.

Bernard Shaw's profile page

Alex Michalos is the author of 18 books, including Militarism And The Quality Of Life (1989) and A Pragmatic Approach to Business Ethics (1995). He has also authored the 5-volume North American Social Report: A Comparative Quality of Life in Canada and the United States from 1964 to 1974 (198-82), as well as the 4-volume Global Report on Student Well-Being (1991-93). Michalos is also the founder of three scholarly journals. He currently teaches politics and social science at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Alex C. Michalos' profile page

Deborah C. Poff is Vice-President Academic and Provost at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Deborah C. Poff's profile page