SHAW, George Bernard

Saint Joan

London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1919. Item #06616

Saint Joan
An Exceptional Association Copy - Inscribed to Ernest Thesiger, Creator of Charles VII

SHAW, George Bernard. Saint Joan: A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue. London: Constable and Company Ltd., 1924.

Presentation copy inscribed on the half-title: “to Ernest Thesiger (Creator of Charles VII) / from Bernard Shaw / 19th June 1924.”

First edition. Octavo (6 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches; 175 x 124 mm.). lxiv, 114, [2, advertisements] pp.

Publisher’s original light green cloth over boards, spine lettered in gilt, top edge trimmed, others uncut. Original pale gray dust jacket printed in dark green, with only minimal darkening to the spine.

A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.

A superb association copy of one of George Bernard Shaw’s greatest dramatic works, inscribed to Ernest Thesiger, who created the role of Charles VII in the original 1924 production of Saint Joan.

Thesiger later collaborated again with Shaw, notably creating the role of Charles II in Good King Charles’s Golden Days (1939), further cementing his place within Shaw’s theatrical circle.

Few inscriptions could be more directly and meaningfully connected to the play’s stage history. Shaw’s identification of Thesiger as the “Creator of Charles VII” underscores the importance he attached to the actor’s performance in bringing the drama to life. Association copies linking author, work, and original performer at the moment of first production are of the highest desirability.

Of additional interest, genealogical sources note that Thesiger was descended, on his mother’s side, from Henry VII of England, lending an intriguing historical resonance to his portrayal of royal figures in Shaw’s plays.

Widely regarded as Shaw’s dramatic masterpiece, Saint Joan was followed by Shaw’s award of the Nobel Prize in Literature the following year, cementing its place among the defining works of twentieth-century drama.

Price: $3,500.00