Pierre Corneille 
Polyeucte 

This seventeenth-century drama in five acts was inspired by the tale of Saint Polyeuctus (rendered as ‘Polyeucte’ in French), a Roman convert to the faith who was martyred in 259 A.D. However, although an imaginatively retold version of the story of St. Polyeuctus comprises some of the plot of the play, Polyeucte also relates metaphorically to the religious debates of the seventeenth century. A must-read for fans of classic drama.