Customer Reviews

The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc

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As a former student of Larissa's, I am excited to finally see her Joan book in print. She's a great writer and historian.

This is a read for anyone who likes medieval history - religious or military, those interested in the history of a saint, and just about everyone else. Unless you like boring saints, read it. The historical Joan of Arc was a more brilliant girl than you can imagine. It's a fascinating story.

The birth of Joan of Arc at Domremy in 1412 found France in desperate straits. England and France have been at war for nearly a hundred years. The English scored a decisive victory at Agincourt in 1415. The French King Charles VI descends into madness. The Queen has an affair with the king's brother, Louis of Orleans. The King's cousin, John the Fearless of Burgandy is the richest person in France. John has Louis of Orleans assassinated and forms an alliance with the English. Under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes, Charles VII the heir to the French Throne is disinherited. King Henry of England marries the daughter of the French King. This marriage should pave the way for him to be King of France and England.

Joan has a deep love for God. Her friends tease her for being too pious. As a child, Joan has a reputation for generosity and would sometimes go hungrey rather than see someone starve. Joan begins to hear divine voices. She succeeds in dissolving a marriage contract and is determined to remain a virgin. She witnesses the lawlessness sweeping through the countryside. Her family is forced to flee Domremy when the town is sacked. Joan's beloved church is burned down.

Joan goes to Vaucouleurs and after great difficulty convinces the local commander to provide her with an escort to have an audiance with the dauphin, the future king of France. Much of the three hundred mile journey to see the dauphin is through enemy territory.

The author, Larissa Taylor does an excellent job in filling in the details of a remarkable woman. Professor Taylor would ask her students their impression of Joan. Her students often gave fairy tale responses while others describe Joan as being schizophrenic, and psychologically diluded. The reader quickly finds out that Joan of Arc is a military genius, she leads men in battle, she has tremendous physical stamina, excells at horseback riding and sword play, and above all Joan is incrediblely smart. Under her bold leadership she gets the prince or dauphin crowned king and teaches the French how to win in battle. Joan holds her own in debates with the most learned scholars in France when she is questioned by theologians on her honesty and at her inquisition trial. She is finally convicted through trickery and for wearing men's clothes. So much for a peasant girl, who Mark Twain describes as the most fascinating person to ever live.

Joan was an interesting woman who lived in a fascinating time. There have been so many books about her that its difficult to understand who she really was. Dr. Taylor provides a new view of Joan.

For those who believe Joan was a saint who heard "heavenly voices" then they may want to steer clear of this book. Dr. Taylor does everything in her power to disprove divine intervention. This doesn't make the book bad or wrong, but for those looking for a book about Joan and her faith they may want to look elsewhere.

Dr. Taylor does not paint Joan as a crazy woman who hears voices because she is a schizophrenic. So, those looking for that type of explanation should keep on looking.

What the author does do is tell the reader that Joan was a strong willed girl who was in the right place at the right time. Joan was groomed to become "The Maid" by those around her. Those at court sought to make her out to become the prophesied warrior because, well why not? I'm not sure I agree with the author's assessment. It seemed like the creation of Joan was a carefully constructed plan. They needed their Virgin Warrior and Joan fit that.

The author tries to explain everything that happened to Joan as if she is just the average person. For instance, when she tells a soldier to move because he will be hit with a cannon ball, and then one falls in the same spot he was standing its taken as no big deal. When she says that she will only last a year(her mission) it's brushed off as no great revelation. But during her trial when Joan is able to outwit her accusers it's all chalked up to Joan being an creative, sarcastic peasant girl. That's great, but it was hard for me to believe an illiterate girl would be able to outsmart the great thinkers of the church and not trip herself up by giving damning answers.

It was an interesting read to see how someone would view Joan as neither a saint nor a crazy woman. I liked the book, but unfortunately I felt like I was left hanging sometimes. The answers provided to me by the author didn't always cut it.

At the end of the book there is a list of principal characters and what happened to them. This is very helpful. There is also a further readings section which is very cool. The author lists books based on military, gender, religion & theology etc.

Those who are Joan fans will want to give this book a go. It's a good book, although some may not agree with the author's conclusions. I think it depends on how you view Joan. Still, I thought it was well written and a nice addition to the never-ending books about Joan.

Taylor's book is quite a good book: it is a good guide to Joan's life and the trial, etc. I particularly liked the maps and discussion of the relief of Orleans, and the general narrative. Also, the pivotal role of clothing (signs of male, female, heresy, etc.) is stressed in a way I had not considered before, and makes one think about the symbolism and gender issues in interesting ways.

What the book lacks is any real reference to the religious dimension of Joan's life -- it is as if the author finds the whole thing implausible or not very interesting or untrue. She never really deals with the CERTAINTY Joan showed throughout that she was guided by voices -- the one thing that kept her going. And why did the voices specify the salvation of France? What possessed her? It is all still a mystery and a puzzle. Reading the transcripts (as I have done in part) is astonishing (we could have had more of them here), challenging, inspiring. There is therefore a kind of emotional distancing from the extraordinary claims Joan was making and the complex, disconcerting, issue of how to deal with a saint through the institution of a Church. (There is not much doubt that they would have crucified Jesus had he appeared before the theologians of Paris). That dimension of the book is missing -- it should have been brought up, even if it was dismissed. Was Joan part of the extraordinary arrival of the voice of women in the 14th and 15th centuries (the Netherlands is not that far away?) And the reaction of many of the actors in the trial is very, very interesting: you can see that Joan messed them up. These were not unsophisticated men: they were very learned, and understood very well that the English were in charge, and yet they sweated blood over what they were up to.

It's a good book: but it isn't a spiritual biography -- I don't mean a hagiography, but a spiritual biography of a woman, who whatever else she was, was driven by her deep faith in God.

Larissa Taylor's book on Joan of Arc, subtitled "The Life and Death of Joan of Arc" might better be called "A critical review of scholarship on Joan of Arc through the Ages." The author describes the changing role the story of Joan of Arc has had in France and in scholarship and in casting Joan as a feminist heroine. Interesting and well written intellectual history.

Subtitled 'The Life and Death of Joan of Arc' the book covers her early life, military career, trial in 1431, the nullification proceedings of 1450-6, and canonization in 1920. 'Virgin Warrior' presents a well researched history, but provides little that is new in either history or character study. Readability of the book is enhanced by a chronology and short bios of the players. Taylor writes an interesting history of Joan's military career including her surprising proficiency with artillery.

I can't help comparing the book to the play 'Saint Joan' by Bernard Shaw. That work provides a powerful depiction of Joan's character and her effect on those around her. 'VW disappoints on covering the wider scope of questions and issues in Shaw's introduction to his play. Taylor references all of Shaw's sources, including Shakespeare, without mention of Shaw. I wonder why.

The book covers sparingly the aftermath of Joan's career, for the process that she began, including the recapture of Paris in 1437 and eventual departure of the English from France. For a more extensive history of the times read the biography of Charles VII by M.G.A. Vale. Curiously, both Shaw and Taylor cite Charles' title 'The Victorious' while neglecting his other epithet 'Charles the Well Served' which likely emanates primarily from Joan of Arc.