My Fair Lady Story Guide
Covent Garden is bustling with both the gentry emanating from the Royal Opera House and with costermongers plying their wares. In particular Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl, is peddling her violets. Following a brief commotion Eliza voices concern about a gentleman, by the name of professor Higgins, who appears to be writing down everything she speaks.
Higgins and a colonel Pickering engage in a debate on the place of dialect and the spoken word in the social standing of an individual. To prove his point Higgins wagers that he can take a common gutter snipe, like Eliza, and pass her off as a princess - with his tuition.
The next day Eliza seeks out professor Higgins, with a view to buying lessons from him so that she can get a job as a flower seller in a proper shop.
Eliza's father, who doesn't have tuppence for his pocket, hopes to profit from Eliza's good fortune, and regales Higgins with some philosophical reasoning.
Higgins eventually agrees to teach her and to wager with Col. Pickering that he can pass her off as a duchess. But he is seriously driven to exasperation by her cockney mannerisms and almost gives up. She is driven to distraction by his thoughtlessness and incessant teaching.
At length, though by George, she eventually gets it resulting in jubilant celebration among the three of them: Higgins, Pickering and Eliza.
The success must be tested; she must be introduced to society - and where better than at the Ascot Races.
In Higgins' mothers box at Ascot Eliza turns the head of Freddy Eynsford-Hill. He becomes besotted by her and follows her home to Higgins' house in Wimpole Street. There he stays hoping to see Eliza again.
After more weeks of concentrated hard work Higgins believes that Eliza is ready for the ultimate test - to be presented at the most exclusive society ball at the Embassy and before the Queen!
But trouble is at hand in the form of Karpathy - a former pupil of Higgins - his greatest by Karpathy's view. He is the consort of the Queen and was there to unmask frauds!
Despite the intense scrutiny, or in fact because of it, the ball is a rip-roaring success. Back at Wimpole Street, Higgins and Pickering waste no time in congratulating each other in their glorious victory. After all every bit of credit for it all belongs to them. Eliza is left completely out of the celebration; her part in the endeavour forgotten. In her fury she rushes out of the house straight into the arms of Freddy who expresses his undying love for her. But Eliza is in no mood for talk - she wants action.
Meanwhile Eliza's father has achieved notoriety for his philosophies on life and has decided to get married - but not before he has one last night on the town.
Eliza seeks solace from Mrs Higgins and decides that she can get on very well without Henry Higgins. She even has the courage to spurn Higgins request for a truce. Though Higgins on the other hand muses that he had grown accustomed to her face and that he will just have to make do with his memories and the recordings of her voice...