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Joan of Arc : a history / by Helen Castor.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Harper, 2015Edition: First editionDescription: xiv, 328 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), color map ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0062384392 (hardcover)
  • 0062384406 (trade paperback)
  • 9780062384393 (hardcover)
  • 9780062384409 (trade paperback)
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Cast of characters -- Family trees -- Introduction: 'Joan of Arc' -- Prologue: The field of blood -- Part one: Before. This war, accursed of God -- Like another Messiah -- Desolate and divided -- Part two: Joan. The maid -- Like an angel from God -- A heart greater than any man's -- A creature in the form of a woman -- I will be with you soon -- A simple maid -- Fear of the fire -- Part three: After. Those who called themselves Frenchmen -- She was all innocence -- Epilogue: 'Saint Joan'.
Summary: "The story of one of the most remarkable women of the medieval world, as you have never read it before. In Joan of Arc : a history, Helen Castor tells this gripping story afresh: forwards, not backwards. Instead of an icon, she gives us a living, breathing woman confronting the challenges of faith and doubt, a roaring girl who, in fighting the English, was also taking sides in a bloody civil war. We meet this extraordinary girl amid the tumultuous events of her extraordinary world where no one--not Joan herself, nor the people around her, princes, bishops, soldiers or peasants--knew what would happen next"--Provided by publisher.Summary: The acclaimed historian Helen Castor -- bestselling author and BBC broadcaster of She-Wolves, the story of England's queens before Elizabeth I -- returns with the incredible story of Joan of Arc, as only a biographer of Castor's enormous talents can tell it. Helen Castor brings us afresh a gripping life of Joan of Arc. Instead of the icon, she gives us a living, breathing young woman, a roaring girl fighting the English and taking sides in a bloody civil war that was tearing apart fifteenth-century France. Here is a portrait of a nineteen-year-old peasant who hears voices from God; a teenager transformed into a warrior, leading an army to victory in an age that believed women should not fight. And it is also the story behind the myth we all know, a myth that began to take hold at her trial: that of the Maid of Orleans, the savior of France, a young woman burned at the stake as a heretic, a woman who, five hundred years later, would be declared a saint. Joan and her world are brought vividly to life in this startling new take on the medieval world. Castor brings us to the heart of the action, to a woman and a country in turmoil, a world where no one, not Joan herself or the people around her -- princes, bishops, soldiers, or peasants -- knew what would happen next. Adding complexity, depth, and fresh insight into Joan's life, showing her confronting the challenges of faith and doubt in a superstitious age, Castor's Joan of Arc is a rich history and biography that allows us to better understand this remarkable woman and her world. - Back cover.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography Joan of Arc C354 Available 33111008034098
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the author of the acclaimed She-Wolves, the complex, surprising, and engaging story of one of the most remarkable women of the medieval world--as never told before.

Helen Castor tells afresh the gripping story of the peasant girl from Domremy who hears voices from God, leads the French army to victory, is burned at the stake for heresy, and eventually becomes a saint. But unlike the traditional narrative, a story already shaped by the knowledge of what Joan would become and told in hindsight, Castor's Joan of Arc: A History takes us back to fifteenth century France and tells the story forwards. Instead of an icon, she gives us a living, breathing woman confronting the challenges of faith and doubt, a roaring girl who, in fighting the English, was also taking sides in a bloody civil war. We meet this extraordinary girl amid the tumultuous events of her extraordinary world where no one--not Joan herself, nor the people around her--princes, bishops, soldiers, or peasants--knew what would happen next.

Adding complexity, depth, and fresh insight into Joan's life, and placing her actions in the context of the larger political and religious conflicts of fifteenth century France, Joan of Arc: A History is history at its finest and a surprising new portrait of this remarkable woman.

Joan of Arc: A History features an 8-page color insert.

"Originally published in England in 2014 by Faber & Faber"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314)and index.

Cast of characters -- Family trees -- Introduction: 'Joan of Arc' -- Prologue: The field of blood -- Part one: Before. This war, accursed of God -- Like another Messiah -- Desolate and divided -- Part two: Joan. The maid -- Like an angel from God -- A heart greater than any man's -- A creature in the form of a woman -- I will be with you soon -- A simple maid -- Fear of the fire -- Part three: After. Those who called themselves Frenchmen -- She was all innocence -- Epilogue: 'Saint Joan'.

"The story of one of the most remarkable women of the medieval world, as you have never read it before. In Joan of Arc : a history, Helen Castor tells this gripping story afresh: forwards, not backwards. Instead of an icon, she gives us a living, breathing woman confronting the challenges of faith and doubt, a roaring girl who, in fighting the English, was also taking sides in a bloody civil war. We meet this extraordinary girl amid the tumultuous events of her extraordinary world where no one--not Joan herself, nor the people around her, princes, bishops, soldiers or peasants--knew what would happen next"--Provided by publisher.

The acclaimed historian Helen Castor -- bestselling author and BBC broadcaster of She-Wolves, the story of England's queens before Elizabeth I -- returns with the incredible story of Joan of Arc, as only a biographer of Castor's enormous talents can tell it. Helen Castor brings us afresh a gripping life of Joan of Arc. Instead of the icon, she gives us a living, breathing young woman, a roaring girl fighting the English and taking sides in a bloody civil war that was tearing apart fifteenth-century France. Here is a portrait of a nineteen-year-old peasant who hears voices from God; a teenager transformed into a warrior, leading an army to victory in an age that believed women should not fight. And it is also the story behind the myth we all know, a myth that began to take hold at her trial: that of the Maid of Orleans, the savior of France, a young woman burned at the stake as a heretic, a woman who, five hundred years later, would be declared a saint. Joan and her world are brought vividly to life in this startling new take on the medieval world. Castor brings us to the heart of the action, to a woman and a country in turmoil, a world where no one, not Joan herself or the people around her -- princes, bishops, soldiers, or peasants -- knew what would happen next. Adding complexity, depth, and fresh insight into Joan's life, showing her confronting the challenges of faith and doubt in a superstitious age, Castor's Joan of Arc is a rich history and biography that allows us to better understand this remarkable woman and her world. - Back cover.

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