''Joan of Arc, a village girl from the Vosges, was born about 1412--burnt for heresy, witchcraft, and sorcery in 1431--rehabilitated after a fashion in 1456--designated Venerable in 1904--declared Blessed in 1908--and finally canonized in 1920. She is the most notable Warrior-Saint in the Christian calendar, and the queerest fish among the eccentric worthies of the Middle Ages.''--George Bernard Shaw

With Saint Joan, Shaw reached the height of his fame as a dramatist. Fascinated by the story of Joan of Arc but unhappy with ''the whitewash which disfigures her beyond recognition,'' he presents a realistic Joan at war not just with British invaders but with realpolitik. This is a masterpiece of the theater of ideas, presented in the most eloquent, vital, human, and moving