The Times was a powerful medium not just in England but throughout the empire and in its heyday the views aired in the main articles and the letters columns were heeded and discussed. From his first letter in 1898, Shaw was trying to gain acceptance in the columns of The Times in a way that was distinct from his other personae of critic, socialist, and playwright. Shaw took on the world of scholars, politicians, critics, and the medical profession.

He offered advice on economics to different Chancellors and got involved in the campaign for women's rights and the letters range over a wide variety of subjects that include Art, Music, Theatre, Language, Phonetics, Politics, Medicine, Economics, and Women's Rights. He became an icon who was labelled by Bertrand Russell as an iconoclast.