Candida, a Mystery
Price: $175.00
Hard Cover. London: Constable and Company, Ltd., 1927. Near Fine.
Later edition. Finely bound in brick-red morocco with linear design in gilt to boards, spine with five raised bands, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, and top edge gilt. About fine book, with light spotting to page edges. Overall, a sumptuous binding. In this early play by Shaw, the lovely Candida and her husband, clergyman James Morell, live a quiet domestic life together. This all changes when Eugene Marchbanks, a young poet, professes his love for Candida, believing that she deserves more than her dull chore-filled existence. Morell, shaken by Candida and Eugene's intimate connection, finally asks Candida to choose between Eugene and himself, and she chooses "the weaker of the two." The play was a phenomenon in its time, sparking "Candidamania," described in The New York Sun as "a contagious disease, frequently caught in street cars, elevated trains, department stores, restaurants, and other places where people talk about what they did the night before. 'Have you seen Candida?' is the question of the hour." Item #GBS011
