An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc [Paperback]

Pamela Marcantel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1998

The story is legend: the french peasant maid Joan of Arc successfully leads an army against the English and is burned at the stake before she turns twenty. Many have tried to re-create her life, but none have succeeded more brilliantly than Pamela Marcantel in this, her dazzling debut.

Here, in dramatic, richly imagined detail, is the full story of the peasant Jhanette, who, at the age of thirteen, is visited by St. Michel, and told she will be known to history at Jehanne the Maid, the girl who would save France from the English. Marcantel paints a fascinating portrait of medieval Europe--a world in which an illiterate girl, chosen by God, can lead an army and never turn back.

After more than five hundred years, Joan of Arc lives again in this hypnotic blend of history and storytelling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Extensively researched, Marcantel's earnest retelling of the story of Joan of Arc traces the saint's life from her childhood to her fiery death, keeping the labyrinthine politics of the age clearly delineated at all times. Marcantel depicts a willful, impatient, hot-tempered Joan who, at times, is just as frightened as anyone else in her situation would be. In 1425, in the village of Domremy, 13-year-old Jhanette, an austere and pious girl, receives her first mystic visitation. Told she is "His special one," she is renamed Jehanne. By her second vision, her destiny?to serve France and God?is revealed to her. The voices of the archangels Michel, Catherine and Marguerite begin to speak to Jehanne more frequently. A calm intensity comes upon her, and she takes an oath to remain virginal. Leaving her village at age 17, she makes her way to Charles de Valois, 26, the uncrowned and unanointed king of France, cutting her hair and adopting men's dress along the way. Received by the Dauphin, she convinces him that she has come to beat back the seven-month English siege of Orleans, then to accompany him to Riems to be crowned. Marcantel knows and clearly loves her history, but perhaps too much so. As the story chugs toward Jehanne's death, dates and names dutifully accumulate until the novel, Marcantel's first, seems more like a ritual than a dramatic narrative. Ultimately, this tale is reminiscent of its subject's famed suit of armor: well structured, densely woven?and lifeless.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Joan of Arc is as much a blend of legend and history as King Arthur, and as with Arthur, stories of her spirit and courage are eternally embedded in our psyche. In her first novel, Marcantel resurrects the mysterious Jehanne, the Maid of Orleans, whose devotion to God led her to be burned at the stake for witchcraft before she is 20. Jehanne's visions and voices influenced her at an early age to leave her village and fulfill God's will. Guided to the future King of France, Charles VII, the peasant Jehanne persuades him to give her an army to recapture French lands from Henry VI's England. Jehanne is arrogant, insolent, quick to anger, and intolerant of human frailty. Often questioning her own worthiness, she is obstinate in fulfilling her mission, making her at times very difficult to like but very human. Rich with historical facts and vivid narrative, this work is highly recommended for most libraries.?Georgia Panos, Johnson Cty. Lib. System, Kan.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031218042X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312180423
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,351,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pamela Marcantel began writing while still in high school and completed her first novel during her junior year at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). She is the author of *V-Squad* and *An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc*. At home in the Blue Ridge of Virginia, Pamela Marcantel has lived in Charlottesville since 1986.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly captivating!, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc (Paperback)

I could not put this book down. The way she followed her faith really touched my heart. I thought it might be a boring book for me, being a 14 year old, but I found that the adventure and mystery of her life left me unable to put the book down. I found it quite amazing that a girl my age could have gone through that and still stood by her faith. The book should be read by people able to follow facts and a plot at the same time.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ADMIRABLE TELLING OF A LEGENDARY TRAGEDY, June 7, 2000

By 

David D. Warner (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc (Hardcover)

It's hard to craft a good story about Joan of Arc. So much of the story does not make sense. So many of the documented details do not hang together. All you have to do is view the first 20 minutes of the new Luc Besson film, THE MESSENGER, to see how painfully a telling of this tale is usually executed. The true story of Jehanne the Maid will likely forever be masked in mystery, a mystery that some have attributed to saintliness, others to madness and still others to the devious dealings of the many infamous royal and ecclesiastical opportunists of the Dark Ages.

What Pamela Marcantel has managed to do with AN ARMY OF ANGELS, is to craft a creative and extraordinarily well-researched retelling of this classic mystery play without lapsing into the usual cliches or delusions surrounding the life of this heroic and controverial 15th Century teenager. She has approached a difficult story with finesse and grace. Mostly, while I found Marcantel's conceptualizations of the messages received via Jehanne's mysterious voices to be somewhat unbelievable, I admired Marcantel's courage to attack that issue head-on -- most authors have simply avoided any speculation whatsoever and have made no attempt to explain directly how Jehanne arrived at her convictions.

As stories of Joan of Arc go, AN ARMY OF ANGELS is currently number one on my recommendation list.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, moving portrayal and an engaging presentation., January 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc (Paperback)

"Army of Angels" is excellent and engaging. I have always had trouble reading history, but Marcantel makes it very digestible, even delicious! Her writing is so realistic that I had to keep reminding myself I was reading a novelization, not "FACTS" written in stone. I couldn't put it down. To anyone intimidated by the length of the book, I say don't be. It is so engaging, you'll fly through it before you realize.

Other readers have had issues believing the rape scene. Joan's abuses in prison have been discussed by many historians, as well as Marcantel. Anyone who thinks a woman in prison in those days -- especially one who claimed to talk to angels -- would not have been raped or otherwise sexually assaulted is sadly deluded. If it can happen today in our prisons, why not then in theirs? Marcantel's portrayal is very believable and tastefully written.

I highly recommend this book to anyone having an interest in Joan of Arc. It is obvious Marcantel based her writing in historical facts and research.