Tales from Bernard Shaw by Gwladys Evan Morris

Illustrated by Phyllis A. Trery

The author has taken the dramatic works of Bernard Shaw and retold them in a jungle context, replacing Shaw’s human characters with animals: an endearing and somewhat eccentric book, brilliantly illustrated in art deco style and hand-coloured in pochoir by Phyllis A. Trery. ‘In the jungle and jungle of life, you must kill or be killed, you must eat or be eaten, you must trap or be trapped. The great Rhino knew it had always known it, had prepared for it, had grown a lovely thick skin for it, and long, thick tusks for it. And he hewed his way through the jungle and nothing could stop him and he stopped at nothingâ “andâ “ugh! – he was always there, grabbing and getting, spreading and swelling, overtaking, overpowering, overwhelming; nothing could stop him. But even a Rhino has a soft side, and his soft side made him up one day to look for a mate. Being the Rhino that he was, only the best would satisfy him. Spying a beautiful and haughty Peacock strutting about in her proud way in the dazzling sunshine, he made up his mind. “I’ll have her,” he said to himself; and went after her and won her and she bore him three offsprings, two she-males and a he, and their names were Barbara, Sarah, and Stephen. Barbara was a Honey-bee, Sarah a Salamander, and Stephen a Mule.