Joan of Arc

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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. She was accused of having blasphemed by wearing men's clothes, of acting upon visions that were demonic, and of refusing to submit her words and deeds to the church because she claimed she would be judged by God alone.Many events in the novel are fictionalized; however, the main events in the life of Joan are rendered faithfully. Jean Bréhal, Grand Inquisiteur de France, et la Réhabilitation of Jeanne D'Arc [ Jean Bréhal, Grand Inquisitor of France, and the Rehabilitation of Joan of Arc].

This caused rumors that the Dauphin was not King Charles VI's son, but the offspring of an adulterous affair between Isabeau and the murdered duke of Orléans.The very fact that Mark Twain wrote this book and wrote it the way he did is a powerful testimony to the attractive power of the Catholic Church's saints. The novel begins with "the Translator's Preface"; then follows a short note entitled "A Peculiarity of Joan of Arc's History" also written by "The Translator". He details her arguments in defense of the village fairies (made to the priest); also in support of a homeless soldier and of a criminal madman. The final chapter relates the events of May 24, 1430, in which Joan and the French lose a battle to the English and Burgundian troops, resulting in Joan's capture. He serialized an abridged version for magazine publication, then published the full-length book in 1896.