Joan of Arc: A History

Written by Helen Castor

Narrated by Anne Flosnik

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781494583057

Helen Castor

Helen Castor is a historian of medieval England and a Bye-Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Her first book, Blood and Roses, was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the English Association’s Beatrice White Prize. Her second book, She-Wolves, was selected as one of the books of the year by The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Independent, Financial Times, and BBC History Magazine. She lives in London.

Reviews for Joan of Arc

[lisapeet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is exactly what the title advertises, much more a history than a biography. Castor does such a great job of grounding the Joan of Arc story in the politics and dynamics of the time, it really changes what's become a kind of familiar, overly-hyped fairy tale. But because it's set late in the Hundred Years' War, there are extremely dense machinations, alliances, and family lines in play, so this is not a quick, escapist kind of read.It's worth while going back and forth to check out the family trees at the front of the book until you get a handle on who's who—these are some seriously intermingled bloodlines—and where everyone's from. If you have the patience for that, though, it's totally rewarding. What a great story... and even though Joan herself is onstage for only a short time, she's a really affecting character. I liked this one a lot, and got a strong sense for a piece of history.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good book for those people whose knowledge of Joan of Arc, or as she was known then Joan the Maid, is sketchy this book will fill in the blanks. As with a lot of stories of saintly figures it is hard to tell who she really was. The one thing is she was the catalyst who turned the tide of English dominance in France. Everything else is mysterious.