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Secondary sourceBook1923

Saint Joan

George Bernard Shaw · 1923

George Bernard Shaw's 1923 play dramatizing Joan of Arc's rise, trial and execution, written soon after her canonization.

A sympathetic dramatization of Joan's trial and execution, written just after her sainthood was declared.

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Cover design for the book Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw, drawn in ink on cream paper. A central figure of Joan in armor-like robes with fleur-de-lis pattern stands with arms outstretched before a large circular halo. Title text reads Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw, with a credit to C. Ricketts and Constable and Co. Ltd.
George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan, 1923. Cover design by C. Ricketts, published by Constable and Co.

About this source

What it is

Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, first performed in New York in December 1923 and in London in 1924. Divided into six scenes and an epilogue, it follows Joan's path from peasant girl to military leader, her trial for heresy, and her execution.

Why it matters

Shaw wrote the play after the Catholic Church canonized Joan in 1920, portraying her as a woman of conviction caught between the political and religious powers of her time. The play reflects Shaw's belief that those who condemned Joan acted according to what they thought was right, offering a more sympathetic and complex view than earlier hostile portrayals. It remains widely studied in English-language classrooms.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Joan's canonization inspired Shaw to write this play?
  • How does Shaw's portrayal of Joan's judges differ from simply calling them villains?
  • What does the play's structure—ending with an epilogue—suggest about how Shaw wanted audiences to remember her?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Joan of Arc on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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