Pygmalion

Higgins accepts the challenge and takes Eliza into his house for months of exhausting lessons, treating her more like an experiment than a person. Her father, the dustman Alfred Doolittle, arrives to see what he can gain from the situation and turns out to be one of the play's funniest characters. A famous scene at a tea party shows Eliza speaking perfect pronunciation while discussing shocking topics, to great comic effect.

After Eliza succeeds at a grand reception, Higgins and Pickering congratulate themselves and ignore her, and she realizes she no longer belongs in her old world or their new one. The final acts turn into a sharp argument about respect, independence and what she is worth as a person. Shaw deliberately avoided a conventional romantic ending and later wrote an afterword explaining what happens to Eliza next. The play is short, quick to read and very funny.

Witty, sharp and still relevant, a classic that is easy and enjoyable to read. Its sharp dialogue and questions about class, education and independence make it a favourite in classrooms and theatres alike. About 96 pages in the Dover Thrift edition.