Customer Reviews

Joan of Arc: Her Story

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Not much can be added to the previous reviews. I would highlight the point that it would be wise to read the forward and preface before getting stuck into the book. The layout of the book is somewhat different to your normal biography but in this case it works well. The story is excellent and is well presented and as mentioned by other reviews without any noticeable bias either way. The authors have produced a gripping and entertaining story and have also provided the reader with some detailed lists of principal characters, issues and images and appendices that have copies of some letters written by `Joan of Arc'. The list of characters was very detailed and makes the book a must have for any decent library. Overall this is a very well researched account of this amazing woman and the story was a joy to read. Recommend to anyone who loves good history.

Jeremy Duquesnay Adams translation of Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin's Joan of Arc: Her Story couldn't treat of a more interesting subject. Out of nowhere, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, a peasant girl from Lorraine travels through anti-French Burgundy to see the Valois claimant of the French throne -- Charles VII. She says that the voices of angels have told her that God has instructed her to raise the siege at Orléans -- which had been going on for some time now -- take Charles to Reims to be consecrated and crowned king -- deep in English territory. She gets to Chinon and is received by the dauphin himself. She is then sent to be questioned by priests and instead of finding her insane -- as would almost certainly be the case should the same thing take place today -- they decide that she's the real deal. Charles gives her an army and she defeats the English at Orléans just a few months after leaving Lorraine. Two months later she has routed an English army at Patay led by, among others, Fastolf, and seen Charles annointed at Reims. Europe was very surprised by this turn of events.

Due to court jealousies, Joan falls out of favor with Charles, and a year after her successful relief of Orléans, is captured by the Burgundians. Charles VII refuses to pay her ransom and Joan is transferred to the English. A kangaroo court that rivals 20th century Soviet mock trials is put on by a priest of the University of Paris -- Pierre Cauchon (whose surname is a homonym for the word pig in French.) Joan is condemned to die by fire. Two years after she enters the scene she is executed. Her last word is "Jesus." Many of the soldiers to watch her die find themselves ashamed. This is a tale religions are made of.

Pernoud arranges her book in three parts: Joan's story or "The Drama", "The Cast of Principal Characters" and "Issues and Images." Joan's story proper is about 150 pages long and is related in an unusual fashion: as it enters the historical record. Thus we don't learn what is known about Joan's childhood until the end of the first part of Pernoud's book, because details of Joan's life do not enter the historical record until after she is dead. The story begins when it first makes it into the record, which is when Joan goes to Vaucouleurs to convince the connected nobleman there to help her reach the dauphin. According to Pernoud, part of the reason for taking this approach is that there is an unusually large amount of historical evidence about Joan. She was famous throughout Europe soon after she liberated Orléans, there are minutes as well as an official transcript of her condemnation trial, there is the transcript of her nullification trial as well as numerous letters, etc. This approach leads her to quote at length much of the source material, which I found to be a very powerful way of communicating the feel of the era and the characters of the story. One way this contrasts with a traditional chronological rendering of a life is there is an emphasis on the primary source material, or written evidence, which makes the retelling of more action-oriented scenarios feel pale in comparison to others. But even at this remove the story is powerful enough to make you cry.

The section on the cast of characters is a roster of short biographies arranged in three categories: the princes, their subjects, and her judges. Within these categories biographies are arranged alphabetically. These are very well done although the structure is a bit encyclopedic for a life. For some reason Pernoud omits Fastolf -- disappointing given the significant role he plays as Joan's opponent.

The section on issues and images presents short descriptions of the issues that historians face when considering Joan's story. These range from the theory that Joan was a bastard of the Royal family to the missing transcript of the interrogation at Poitiers to the idioms of Joan and her contemporaries. These are done by presenting the arguments followed by a general sense of what Pernoud thinks of their merits. (Joan was probably not of royal birth.)

The book also includes a useful appendix which includes the original and translations of all Joan's letters still extant, a chronology and maps of her travels and cities that play a large role in her story. Be warned: the chronology is useful but it does contradict the first section of the book, which was very confusing for me, at least. Jeremy Adams includes a helpful preface, which is essentially a reminder of the broad historical context into which Joan put herself.

This is a beautiful book. I think it is designed to be more of an historian's handbook than a general reader's introduction, but somehow the way it unfolds makes for very powerful reading. It is the sort of book you keep for your library because you feel sure you will be returning to it.

Seems that some people can churn out biographies with the speed of an A&E documentary: with all the spark of a bag of hammers. I can't think of a word that means super-duper-mega-whumpa-exhaustive to describe all the background information that is included in this book, so I won't even try. All you need to know is that this was written by the foremost scholars of Joan of Arc. Even better is that it is not just Joan's story, but the appendices give full portraits of ALL the players in her drama.. and these people are shown in the context of their place in that time of history. Also included are many transcripts of her "trials." This is not an easy read, but it is a gratifying read, even for those (like me) who are unaccustomed to scholarly works. TAKE THIS HINT: Keep notes of the players as you go along (name, allegiance..), otherwise it will take a lot longer, as you'll keep getting sidetracked flipping to the back to read & reread.

What a great book. The authors have created a comprehensive and detailed historical portrait of Joan The Maid based on actual facts. My favorite part of this book is the comprehensive list of characters involving in the life of Joan of Arc. This list made it easy to reference all the different dukes, counts, kings and other names mentioned in the book. I strongly recommend this book.

This is possibly the best book about La Petite Pucelle to be released in the last few decades: Regine Pernoud presents the evidence without injecting bias or speculation into the mix, and also includes the text of Joan of Arc's surviving letters and other relevant information. Along with her other books (such as "Joan of Arc, By Herself and Her Witnesses"), this is a must-read for anyone who wishes to study the historical Joan.

Absolutely wonderful by a first rate historian in the French style. Historically rigourous, gripping, complete. This is the full historical record with no embellishment or fluff. I found the translator's notes and additions rather detrimental, and frankly out of place. It is not the translator's place to reinvent the wheel. The comments were over the top, and not in line with what the author intended, which is obvious from the content. I would highly recommend the book, just not the translation.

I think it wise for anyone who reads this book to begin with the prefaces which give a clue to the overall presentation of the book. I did find myself captivated by the book upon first reading. And though it is easy for us to become lost in the maze of characters involved in St. Joan's life, a testament of how many she affected in the brief time she was alive, there are the second and third parts to enlighten us. The book does well with the presentation of her life. Further, there is plenty of information in the appendices to give someone not familiar with the "life and times" of the late Medieval Age to come away with enough background to have a better understanding of the events that unfold in this book. More interesting reading would be found in Pernoud's "Joan of Arc: In Her Own Words." if one is interested solely in her story without having to worry about a lot of the historical contexts.

This is an eloquent and detailed book, full of scholarly facts and based upon extensive research. Mlle. Pernoud, "'la grande dame' of French historical writing", was probably the foremost expert on Joan of Arc, and she is famous both for her scholarship and her engaging writing style. Better yet, she stands aside and lets Joan do the talking.

While "Joan of Arc, By Herself and Her Witnesses" makes for easier reading, this one covers a lot of information not found in the above book. Both would be good choices for anyone studying the subject.

I have seen a number of documentary efforts concerning Joan of Arc over the years, but wanted to get a little closer to the recorded history. I decided to look for a book that could give a compelling account of events while providing plenty of snippets of historical source material. This book fit the bill almost perfectly. The core of this book is a chronological examination of the historical record, which is not identical to a chronological ordering of events. Don't be put off by this approach, however. Its appropriateness and lucidity are well represented here. This "core" section is only 160 pages. The rest of the book consists of translator's preface, semi-biographical sketches, appendices, and the like. Consequently, the only intimidating factor here is the occasional spate of French names and place-names, which I had unusual difficulty keeping straight in my head. The authors are scrupulous about providing context (which is to say, more French historical detail than an English-speaking reader might readily absorb). Your head may swim on occasion. But the pay-off is inevitably worth it. At it's best, this work is more thrilling (and where it deals with Joan's persecution, more chilling) than nearly any work of fiction. However, I recommend you start by skimming the "character" sketches and maps thoughtfully provided in this edition. In short this book is challenging but definitely worthwhile if you want a better understanding of how Joan's mission was viewed by herself and her contemporaries, as well as a large helping of historical backdrop and court intrigue. However, if you prefer a more "conventional" presentation of characters and events (such as a novel), you'll want to keep looking.

I studied Joan of Arc for my college senior seminar, and found this book to be one of the most useful books on the subject of her life. Pernoud did an amazing amount of research on J of A's life and times, and had a great amount of information to share. She is also usually one of the more readable historians I have read; every now and then she becomes dry, but this is rare. She has written many books on J of A; this one is the best general reference. It has information on J of A, several people in her life, her time, etc. I would definitely recommend this book (and this author) to those interested in reading about history.