Joan of Arc: Her Story

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.