The Man of Destiny

Shaw called this one-act piece a trifle, but it crackles with the wit that made his name. The action unfolds at a small inn near Tavazzano in 1796, just after the young General Bonaparte has won the Battle of Lodi. A strange lady has tricked a gullible lieutenant out of a packet of dispatches, one of which could embarrass Napoleon badly, and she now matches minds with the general himself in a long, teasing duel of nerve and cunning. Shaw uses the encounter less for history than for talk, letting Napoleon deliver a famously barbed reading of English character and self-deception. It is a slight, sparkling comedy of ideas. Available here as a free PDF and EPUB edition.