Saint Joan is a 1923 play by G. Bernard Shaw that he wrote shortly after the Roman Catholic Church canonized Joan of Arc. It is a dramatization based on the records of her trial that was first produced in 1923. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... (George) Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 – November 2, 1950) was an Irish playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Catholicism. ... Canonization is the process of declaring someone a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she qualifies for this. ... Joan of Arc, also known as Jeanne dArc[1] or Jeanne la Pucelle (6 January 1412 – 30 May 1431),[2] is a national heroine of France and a saint of the Catholic Church. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Although Shaw had a much larger body of work, this play is often credited with his receiving the 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature. 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words of Alfred Nobel, produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency. The work in this case generally refers to an authors work as a whole, not to any individual...

Shaw presents Joan as more of a down-to-earth human being than some other writers. In his preface to the play, Shaw claims that her trial was not unfairly conducted, a version of events rejected by historians (see, for example, Pernoud's "Joan of Arc By Herself And Her Witnesses", pp. 165-240). He also claims that she wore male clothing as a reflection of personal preference rather than out of necessity, a point also rejected by historians, who have pointed out that the eyewitness accounts confirm that she in fact wore this clothing because it had numerous cords by which the hosen and tunic could be securely fastened together as a defense against rape (see, for example, the article "Primary Sources and Context Concerning Joan of Arc's Male Clothing", online at: http://primary-sources-series.joan-of-arc-studies.org/PSS021806.pdf).

Shaw also argues that the common depiction of Joan as being physically beautiful is incorrect, which historians have again rejected by pointing out that eyewitness accounts describe her as "beautiful and shapely" (see, for example, mention of this account in the online biography at the Joan of Arc Archive ).