Nancy Astor and George Bernard Shaw “She is very fond of you. So am I. I don’t know why.” Excerpt from a letter from George Bernard Shaw to Nancy Astor

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), playwright, literary giant, creator of Pygmalion , Nobel Prize for Literature Winner in 1925 and Academy Award winner in 1938 was a great friend of Nancy Astor’s from late 1927 until he died in 1950. They were initially introduced by his wife Charlotte. Over the course of their 22-year friendship he wrote nearly 150 letters to her. Like T. E. Lawrence, Nancy and Shaw seemed like an unlikely friendship. She was emotional. He was intellectual. He described himself as a Communist, hated Parliament and thought it should be abolished. He also thought her chosen religion of Christian Science was nonsense. Mutual admiration Nancy and Shaw did actually have common ground though. In many ways they were both at the height of their fame and abilities when they met. He had just produced a number of the works he was most famous for, while her political career was well-established. They were both extroverts with a love for the theatrical. She respected and admired him. He liked her beauty, appetite for life and the fact that she didn’t always follow the established way of thinking. In his final weeks, Nancy was one of the very few people Shaw wanted to see. It was she who gave the official death notice to the press. Visit to Russia The most public highlight of their friendship came in the summer of 1931 when the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin invited Shaw to visit Russia. Shaw’s wife was unwell and not able to make the trip so Nancy and Waldorf travelled with him as part of a bigger party. An unpopular move The visit lasted for 9 days and came at a difficult time for the Astors as Bobbie had just been arrested. During the trip Nancy controversially asked Stalin why he had slaughtered so many Russians. Nancy was criticised by Winston Churchill and the press for accepting ‘Communist hospitality and flattery’ . The headlines, while negative, were quickly swept away and replaced with reports of a huge economic crisis, otherwise known as ‘The Great Slump’ which overtook the country in the 1930s.