Saint Joan, first produced in New York in 1923 and in London in 1924, is considered by many to be Shaw's greatest play, though some critics have taken a more negative view of it and it has probably been ranked less highly in recent years than in the past. It remains one of the most frequently performed of his plays and it provides a major role for an actress. Joan of Arc had been a subject of particular interest around 1920. During the First World War she had been represented fighting alongside French soldiers against the Germans and it is likely that this was a factor that influenced her canonisation by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920. A translation of documentation relating to her trial had been brought to Shaw's notice by a f

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Published 30 October 2002

Citation: Newton, Ken. "Saint Joan". The Literary Encyclopedia. 30 October 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2287, accessed 9 February 2010.]