Summary
Summary
Helen Castor tells afresh the gripping story of the peasant girl from Domremy who hears voices from God, leads the French army to victory, is burned at the stake for heresy, and eventually becomes a saint. But unlike the traditional narrative, a story already shaped by the knowledge of what Joan would become and told in hindsight, Castor's Joan of Arc: A History takes us back to fifteenth century France and tells the story forwards. Instead of an icon, she gives us a living, breathing woman confronting the challenges of faith and doubt, a roaring girl who, in fighting the English, was also taking sides in a bloody civil war. We meet this extraordinary girl amid the tumultuous events of her extraordinary world where no one-not Joan herself, nor the people around her-princes, bishops, soldiers, or peasants-knew what would happen next.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Now a legendary symbol of France, Joan of Arc began her life as a 15th-century peasant girl who, after hearing the voice of God, donned "armour as though she were a man" and inspired the army of the dauphin Charles to victory over the English before leading him to his coronation at Reims as Charles VII. Castor (She-Wolves) recreates the heady atmosphere of a period when rival French, English, and English-Burgundian claims resulted in two claimants to the French throne. Her detailed, lengthy, and well-written account relates the fighting between primary dynastic houses before Joan arrives on the scene. Joan remains enigmatic throughout much of Castor's work, but as she faces death at the hands of her English-Burgundian captors, her extraordinary will shines through. Castor increasingly uses Joan's words during her trial, and quotes from the testimony of her friends and family members in the posthumous re-examination of her cleric-orchestrated trial. Surprisingly, Castor doesn't mention post-WWI French nationalism and the desire of competing factions to appropriate Joan's story in the brief discussion of Joan's canonization in 1920. Castor creates a strong introduction to the courageous girl who swore she heard saints' voices, but also to the nation-rending struggle for power so fiercely waged that only that singular, obsessive teenager could finally save France. Illus. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Arguing that previous accounts of the life of Joan of Arc are told backward, from the perspective of her battles and trial, Castor takes a forward approach, from the context of France before Joan of Arc became the iconic figure she was then and remains today. Fifteenth-century France was wracked with civil war and infighting that weakened it to incursions from England's King Henry V. After 15 years of bitter war and strife, the 17-year-old peasant girl Joan asserts that she has been divinely sent to drive the English from France and install the dauphin Charles as rightful king of France. Castor details the enormous contest of wills and military might between the warring parties, with the added complication of a young woman defying all social and religious conventions. Amid the political intrigue, princes, bishops, and soldiers struggled to discern whether Joan was a messenger of God or a heretic. Castor brings keenly observed historical details to the grandeur and drama of the political and religious turmoil of medieval Europe and an extraordinary young woman.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2015 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Though many listeners may be familiar with the later life of Joan of Arc (1412-31)-leading an army to victory after hearing the voice of God, burned at the stake at age 19, and made a saint 500 years later-most of them have likely have not given any serious thought to the events of her childhood or her coming of age. In this new work, which draws on transcripts of Joan's two trials, allowing listeners to hear performances of Joan and her friends and family in their own words, Castor (history, Cambridge Univ; Blood and Roses) reminds listeners of the passion in the woman who became an icon. Anne Flosnik narrates the book with great sensitivity. Verdict This finely written book is recommended for listeners who are interested in history, biography, or Joan of Arc herself. ["Readers interested in history, rather than folklore, will find this detailed framing of Joan's story very rewarding": LJ 4/1/15 review of the Harper hc.]-Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.