{"product_id":"saint-joan-a-chronicle-play-in-six-scenes-and-an-epilogue-bernard-shaw-1st-edition","title":"Saint Joan: a Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue, Bernard Shaw — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublication:\u003c\/b\u003e London, Constable and Company Ltd., 1924\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormatting:\u003c\/b\u003e 8vo, pp. [viii], 114, [ii].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Report:\u003c\/b\u003e Very Good. The original light olive-green cloth binding remains notably bright and firm, with only the faintest suggestion of rubbing to the extremities and slight bumping to the corners. The text block is robust, featuring traditional untrimmed fore and lower edges that exhibit some expected, moderate toning and scattered foxing, primarily restricted to the page block edges and early preliminary leaves. Internally, the pages are crisp, clean, and the binding remains tight. The original, fragile dust wrapper is present and well-preserved. It exhibits minor chipping and rubbing to the spine head and tail, alongside some shallow creasing and a few tiny closed tears along the upper edge of the rear panel, yet remains entirely intact, unclipped, and highly presentable without significant loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCatalogue Note:\u003c\/b\u003e First Edition, 1924. This represents the true first trade printing of Bernard Shaw's acclaimed play, issued by Constable just months prior to the folio-sized Charles Ricketts illustrated limited edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis copy is distinguished by the retention of its exceedingly scarce original dust wrapper, which remains in highly collectible, unrestored condition. Uncommonly, this copy also features several contemporary newspaper clippings loosely laid in, including period reviews of Shaw, the play, and a piece by A.G.G., which add a charming element of historical context and contemporary provenance to the volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinding the first trade edition in its original dust jacket without heavy tape repairs or severe loss is increasingly uncommon on the open market, making this an excellent addition for collectors of modern first editions or twentieth-century dramatic literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsidered one of Bernard Shaw's greatest theatrical achievements and a primary catalyst for his 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature, \u003ci\u003eSaint Joan\u003c\/i\u003e explores the life, trial, and execution of Joan of Arc. Written shortly after her canonisation in 1920, Shaw's chronicle play strips away the romanticised mythology surrounding the Maid of Orléans. Instead, he presents her as a pragmatic, visionary rebel whose proto-Protestant and nationalist convictions inevitably threatened the foundations of the feudal and ecclesiastical establishment. Sharp, deeply philosophical, and brimming with Shaw's trademark wit, it remains a defining masterpiece of the modern stage.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54495996248403,"sku":"4932","price":145.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260730_232708.jpg?v=1785935355","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/saint-joan-a-chronicle-play-in-six-scenes-and-an-epilogue-bernard-shaw-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}