The Little Girl Who Became a Giant

By Francis Pitard

This book is based on a true story and accurate historical details. None of the characters are fictional. The story of Joan of Arc unfairly sunk in the mist of history and I want to correct for this anomaly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors Press
• Release date: Jun 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781643148380

Francis Pitard

Dr. Francis F. Pitard is a consulting expert in Sampling, Statistical Process Control and Total Quality management. He is President of Francis Pitard Sampling Consultants (www.fpscsampling.com) and Technical Director of Mineral Stats Inc. (www.mineralstats.com) in Broomfield, Colorado, USA. He provides consulting services in many countries. Dr. Pitard has six years of experience with the French Atomic Energy Commission and fifteen years with Amax Extractive R&D. He taught Sampling Theory for the Continuing Education Offices of Colorado School of Mines, The Australian Mineral Foundation, for the Mining Department of the University of Chile, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. He has a Doctorate of Technology from the Aalborg University in Denmark. He is author of several textbooks on Sampling Theory and Practice, two historical novels about Polynesians, Heirs of a Lost Race and Rapa Nui Settlers, and the biography of his great-aunt Aline Virmoux, who was involved in the French Resistance during World War II, in "From Normandy to the Hell of Ravensbrück". He is the recipient of the prestigious Pierre Gy's Gold Medal for excellence in promoting and teaching the Theory of Sampling (Cape Town, South Africa, 2009).

Book preview

9781643148366-Perfect.png

Copyright © 2023 by Francis Pitard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-64314-836-6 (Paperback)

978-1-64314-837-3 (Hardback)

978-1-64314-838-0 (E-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023907516

AuthorsPress

California, USA

www.authorspress.com

INTRODUCTION

The following story took place between 1412 and 1430 at the end of a terrible 100-year war between France and England. It was a time when France was losing battle after battle. Despair and starvation were everywhere in the North part of France.

Many historical documents relate the story of Joan of Arc, which has always been a fascinating subject. Famous people such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Sir Winston Churchill, living in men’s world, and keeping women out of politics, had a deep respect, admiration, and source of inspiration for Joan of Arc.

However, very little is known about her childhood. How is it conceivable that at 17-years old, Joan of Arc, obviously a tomboy with very little education, would become in charge of the French army, and become an unsurpassed battle strategist. It is because she was born with an amazing intelligence, and this needs to be told. It is important for all women today, and especially teenage girls, to be inspired by what a woman can do.

Therefore, I will take a different approach from historians, and fantasize about the young years of Joan of Arc and see if we can learn something that would be applicable today to inspire many young children to become the leaders of tomorrow. The narrator of the story will be Jean (John in English), a brother of Joan of Arc who was three years older than her and had a deep admiration for his young, unusual, loving sister.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I am indebted to many people who have supported my work, inspired me, and encouraged me to pursue, day after day, the extraordinary pleasure of writing a fascinating story. I am especially grateful to Deloris, my wife, Jennifer, my daughter in law, and her children, Maxime, my son, and Doug Lange, a good friend, for their efforts to polish the manuscript.

CHAPTER 1

My name is Jean (John) and I was born in 1409. I have two older brothers, Jacquemin born in 1402, and Pierre (Peter) born in 1408. My youngest sister is Catherine, and my beloved sister is Jeanne (Joan) born in 1412 and she is the object of my story. I was always very close to Joan as I had a passion to observe her unique personality.

My father Jacques of Arc was born in 1375, and my mother, Isabelle Romée, birthdate unknown, was from Vothon, a small village four miles away. This is year 1420, and a year earlier my father had purchased the Chateau de l’Ile on fifty acres land near the hamlet of Domrémy. It was in the far east of France, southwest of Nancy. My father helped the Mayor organize the village and collect taxes; he was an important person and was respected by many people.

On the property we had vineyards, forest, and a large garden operated and maintained by a young couple from the village. Joan and I had a passion for collecting wild mushrooms. My mother had many recipes to cook them and everybody loved her cooking talents.

There was no school in the village, therefore our education was left to our parents, and the local priest, to teach us the essentials of a good life. As a result, we had poor skills in reading and writing. However, and this is most fascinating and mysterious, Joan was a genius at words. How she got that talent is baffling. The first time I noticed this talent in her, she was eight years old.

One day, I was practicing throwing a hunting knife at a target with my older brothers. I was not very good at this, but my oldest brother was a master at it. Then we had a little surprise.

Can I try this myself? Joan asked. I observed Jacquemin, and I know why he is the best.

Everybody laughed, and Jacquemin said to Joan, "You