Saint Joan of Arc [Paperback]

John Beevers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1974

This is the story of a young girl who died when she was nineteen.  She was no beauty and no scholar.  She could neither read nor write.  She came from the obscurity of a small, remote hamlet and in less than fifteen months had crowned a king, set in motion events that were to save her country from foreign domination, defeated the forces of a great nation, and changed the history of Western Europe.  She was burned to death as a heretic.  Nearly five hundred years later she was canonized and became the patron saint of the country she saved.  It is one of the most astonishing stories in history.  This is an attempt to tell it simply but accurately and to peel away the smothering husk in which some historians have enclosed it.  It is a task I have enjoyed and I hope that what I have done will enable others to feel the magic of those far-off summer days when this young girl, astride her charger, rode conquering through the fields and woods of France.  But it is far more than the story of a conquest, far more than a medieval pageant.  It is the story of a great saint - Joan of Arc. Imprimatur: Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, 7/27/1959

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Tan Books & Pub; First edition (June 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895550431
• ISBN-13: 978-0895550439
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joan's true story without any ideological trimmings, January 19, 2000

By 

Francis Young (Maitland, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saint Joan of Arc (Paperback)

This exciting biography manages to bring to life the mood of 14th Century France and to give a vivid portrait of "the Maid" from contemporary accounts, which are always clearly credited.

Beevers achieves this without missing the point of Joan's canonisation, so often misconstrued as being due to patriotism or even to some kind of early feminist or anti-establishment streak, with which some always try to retrospectively credit her.

After a simple account of what we know of her family life, and riveting detail in the battles and her attempts to reach the Dauphin, Beevers gives an accurate and crystal-clear historical summary of her trials, including much excellent background on the personalities involved.

This book makes a wonderful spiritual and historical gift for a teenager, and is scholarly, highly readable and inspiring. It is the perfect choice for those who seek Joan's true story without any ideological trimmings.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful without the feminist mythology!, October 28, 2004

By 

Christiana Washington (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Joan of Arc (Paperback)

I'm a woman and I'm all for female heroines, but so many of Joan's biographers err on the side of feminism. John Beevers does not. He shows her as a real, solid, Christ-centered young lady who led a nation in a time of peril. She was called for a specific purpose and this book gives the most realistic, unfabricated version of her life. One of the best biographies I have ever read. I couldn't put it down!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start your St. Joan journey with this amazing book!, April 29, 2009

By 

Sexy Bachelor (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Start your jouney into the life and times of St. Joan with this easy-to-digest book by John Beevers!

This book tells of the life of a pious Catholic teenage peasant girl who defeated the occupying English forces in France in less than 2 years. She saved her country and gave it hope beyond measure, crowned her forgotten king, freed France from the English, and was sadly repaid with death by fire. I wonder if St. Joan still haunts the English and the grounds at Rouen?

St. Joan died for a useless king that didn't even bother to save her after she was captured by the English! A sad and tragic tale of a heroine who was betrayed and let down by her own people. Rescue attempts came too late. Reminds you of Jesus. He had thousands of cheering followers one day before and when he rode into Jerusalem, but by the time he got crucified, he hardly had anyone by his side (save for his mother and one disciple) when he died on the cross. One cannot help but see the similarities in this case of St. Joan of Arc.

Too bad the French have forgotten their national patron saint these days!
Looks like St. Joan is honored and remembered more outside France, than in France today.