Having followed Shaw on a largely unsuccessful pursuit of love in Volume I, Mr Holroyd in his second instalment sets him off on what turns out to be an equally frustrated pursuit of power. It may seem curious that we are being asked to regard a man of such dazzling achievement as repeatedly failing in his aims, and at this stage we can only speculate about what he will be pursuing and not catching up with in Volume III. However that may be, Mr Holroyd regards the quest for power as his subject's principal activity and 'growing obsession' during what might be thought, and is so named by the blurb, his prime, from 1898 to 1918 - that is, from his early forties to his early sixties.

LRB 12 October 1989 | PDF Download