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Looking for a good book about Joan of Arc

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Tanzanite
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Post by Tanzanite » Fri May 6th, 2011, 11:40 pm

Another book (fiction) is Army of Angels by Pamela Mercantel. I read it a few years ago. It gets a little bogged down in the middle, but overall, I liked it. In the book Jehanne (Joan) is not always a likeable person, but I couldn't help but admire her.

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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sat May 7th, 2011, 2:00 am

She's also raped in the book which turned me off to the novel. I felt that Pamela tried to strip away the mystery and awe of Joan and make her just a average person.

I'm shocked I didnt respond to this thread sooner. I'm a Joan nut. So I have two weaknesses Alcott and Joan.

There isnt much in the way of fiction when it comes to Joan. I think her life is hard to write about and it isn't as sexy as other historical figures. She had no love life, no secret love life, lived as a soldier, prayed a whole lot, fasted, was chaste and had a wicked temper. Its not very alluring. She got shot a few times and then torched.

I remember reading all of the fiction books mentioned here. And for the life of me I can't think of any others. Dove and the Sword was one I read way back when. Its YA though.

Personally, I love, Joan of Arc: In her Own Words. If you know her story then you need to read this one. It strips away everyone's thoughts about Joan and gives you Joan as she said things.
Last edited by Divia on Sat May 7th, 2011, 2:11 am, edited 3 times in total.
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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Mon May 9th, 2011, 9:47 pm

[quote=""Tanzanite""]Another book (fiction) is Army of Angels by Pamela Mercantel. I read it a few years ago. It gets a little bogged down in the middle, but overall, I liked it. In the book Jehanne (Joan) is not always a likeable person, but I couldn't help but admire her.[/quote]

I second this one. I really liked Marchand's vision of Joan, actually.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


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Alisha Marie Klapheke
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Post by Alisha Marie Klapheke » Tue May 10th, 2011, 7:41 pm

I am a Joan fan (note avatar) as well. I've only read non fiction about her though perhaps because I feel like I would never really like what fiction would do to her...I suppose I'm being dramatic. I guess I should read the two good novels mentioned. Thanks for starting the thread.

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TeralynPilgrim
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Post by TeralynPilgrim » Sat July 9th, 2011, 3:24 am

There's a new one coming out soon called The Maid and the Queen by Nancy Goldstone. I look forward to reading it.
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sat July 9th, 2011, 4:53 pm

[quote=""rosepetal720""]There's a new one coming out soon called The Maid and the Queen by Nancy Goldstone. I look forward to reading it.[/quote]

Yeah, thats nonfiction. I'm gonna bet that the author is going to make it seem like Joan was nothing more than a pawn and that they hyped her up. In fact I'd bet 100 bucks on it just by reading the summary I found.

There is a fiction one coming out as well, and I dont know if it was mentioned here, just The Maid, but I think its a very liberal interpretation with a splash of shock and aw thrown in. I mean Catherine, Joan's sister gets killed by English soldiers. :rolleyes:
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sat July 9th, 2011, 5:38 pm

I forgot to mention that a newer YA book has come out in a few years called Warrior Girl.
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Post by TeralynPilgrim » Sat July 9th, 2011, 10:25 pm

I thought the Maid and the Queen was fiction? Out of curiosity, how can you tell besides reading the summary and guessing?
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sat July 9th, 2011, 10:55 pm

Pretty sure someone told me it was non fic, and I think thats mostly what the author writes
No more compelling figure has ever emerged from the pages of history than Joan of Arc, the brave peasant girl who heard the voices of angels and restored the dauphin to his rightful place on the throne of France. The mystery surrounding Joan’s story remains as mesmerizing today as it was when she first made her appearance some six centuries ago. How had the Maid, a lowly commoner, gained an audience at the royal court? How came she, an illiterate young woman from an insignificant, obscure, out-of-the-way village at the very edge of the kingdom, to know so much about the complex political situation in France, and, indeed, to see into the deepest recesses of her sovereign’s heart? What clandestine sign did Joan reveal to the dauphin that convinced him of her authenticity and inspired him to follow her advice? How did a seventeen year old girl with no experience in warfare defeat the fearsome English army and raise the siege of Orléans in a single week?

Now, to coincide with the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc, for the first time all of these questions—and more—will be answered. Six hundred years is a long time to wait for the truth, but I promise you that the secret history of the Maid of Orléans is far more thrilling and fascinating than the myth that was so carefully and deliberately constructed around her those many years ago…
That last sentence alone tells me pretty much all I need to read. I could be wrong, but I'd bet I'm right. I'm guessing they said Yolande of Aragon was the one who pushed Joan's cause. It was she who brought Joan before Charles, and told him something that so few people knew so he would believe Joan. It was She who filled joan's heads full of ideas that she was the maid the prophecy spoke of etc. etc.
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TeralynPilgrim
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Post by TeralynPilgrim » Sat July 9th, 2011, 11:46 pm

This is so frustrating. On Goodreads, it sounds very much like a fiction. There has to be a way to know for sure whether a book is fiction or non-fiction without picking it up or taking it off a bookshelf. I couldn't find anything like that on Amazon. I just know I'm going to buy nonfiction books online by accident and be disappointed.

Anyone know the secret, or do I have to physically go into a bookstore to find out the genres of books?
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