03/02/2015
Now a legendary symbol of France, Joan of Arc began her life as a 15th-century peasant girl who, after hearing the voice of God, donned “armour as though she were a man” and inspired the army of the dauphin Charles to victory over the English before leading him to his coronation at Reims as Charles VII. Castor (She-Wolves) recreates the heady atmosphere of a period when rival French, English, and English-Burgundian claims resulted in two claimants to the French throne. Her detailed, lengthy, and well-written account relates the fighting between primary dynastic houses before Joan arrives on the scene. Joan remains enigmatic throughout much of Castor’s work, but as she faces death at the hands of her English-Burgundian captors, her extraordinary will shines through. Castor increasingly uses Joan’s words during her trial, and quotes from the testimony of her friends and family members in the posthumous re-examination of her cleric-orchestrated trial. Surprisingly, Castor doesn’t mention post-WWI French nationalism and the desire of competing factions to appropriate Joan’s story in the brief discussion of Joan’s canonization in 1920. Castor creates a strong introduction to the courageous girl who swore she heard saints’ voices, but also to the nation-rending struggle for power so fiercely waged that only that singular, obsessive teenager could finally save France. Illus. (May)

A book that shows vividly what Joan meant to those in her own time, politically and militarily…fascinating” — The New Yorker

“A triumph - brings the real Joan and her time to dramatic, moving and brilliant life.” — Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets, New York Times bestseller

“In Castor’s hands [Joan’s] voice comes across in a truly vibrant way that illuminates her personality as few others have managed…eye-opening, engaging, and overall, excellent non-fiction…Castor’s outstanding ability to convey the important events and people that made up the political landscape make this one a winner.” — BookBrowse

“Castor creates a strong introduction to the courageous girl who swore she heard saints’ voices, but also to the nation-rending struggle for power so fiercely waged that only that singular, obsessive teenager could finally save France…Recreates the heady atmosphere of the period.” — Publishers Weekly

“Convincing and gripping…a highly satisfying biography…Castor’s great coup is in framing this biography within another context...it puts the women back into the story…Castor’s book is an important way of returning Joan’s ‘star’ to the realm where it belongs, the human one.” — Amanda Foreman, New York Times Book Review

“Castor brings keenly observed historical details to the grandeur and drama of the political and religious turmoil of medieval Europe and an extraordinary young woman.” — Booklist

“Castor’s research is thorough and her account…always fascinating. Readers interested in history, rather than folklore, will find this detailed framing of Joan’s story very rewarding.” — Library Journal

“Castor’s account is filled with gruesome murders, even more gruesome accidents, and layers of intrigue that make Game of Thrones look like child’s play…enjoyable…never dull, thanks to Castor’s knack for weaving in salacious bits, usually involving a particularly unfortunate death.” — Daily Beast

“JOAN OF ARC: A HISTORY is popular history at its best: pacy, clear and undergirded with a formidable array of scholarly footnotes. Helen Castor shows how well it can be done.” — Daily Telegraph

“An amazing read…This is a true story from the histories and journals of the times that reads like fiction…one of the best histories I have encountered.” — Blogcritics (Leslie Wright)

“An unorthodox yet erudite and elegant biography of this ‘massive star.’” — Kirkus Reviews

“There have been many lives of Joan, and books about her times, some of them excellent. But none is quite like Castor’s ... [her] book is a historian’s achievement.” — The Guardian

“[A] vivid and intelligent biography ... hugely impressive. ” — Sunday Business Post

“Clear and elegant ... an engaging piece of popular scholarship that does not diminish Joan’s star, but instead uses its light to illuminate a remarkable age.” — Times Higher Education

“Compelling ... [Castor] succeeds triumphantly in rescuing [Joan] from the various straitjackets in which she has been confined ... a fascinating and privileged insight.” — Sunday Times (London)

“…quite intriguing. This book is a great historical read.” — Manhattan Book Review

“An elegant, subtle biography of great historical integrity and sensitive understanding. Castor lets the humanity of Joan’s story shine through.” — Kate Mosse, Evening Standard (London)

“A fascinating biography ... truly thrilling.” — Daily Mail (London), Book of the Week

“Excellent ... perhaps Castor’s greatest achievement is to remind us of just how extraordinary Joan was. ” — Literary Review

“Enlightening ... [an] elegant and vivid account.” — The Times (London)

“With the meticulous scholarship that she revealed in SHE-WOLVES, and in the same captivating manner, Helen Castor presents us with a very compelling analysis.” — Trevor James, Historical Association / The Historian

“[An] excellent retelling of the strange tale of the Maid from Domrémy...JOAN OF ARC: A HISTORY is popular history at its best” — Daily Telegraph (London)

“Gripping…Written to the impeccable standards of her award-winning bestseller, SHE-WOLVES, Castor’s meticulous untangling of six centuries’ worth of incredibly complex and contradictory detail into elegant prose is a thing of wonder…Castor doesn’t make history fun or cool in JOAN OF ARC. She makes it shockingly, poignantly, irresistibly real.” — BookReporter

“[An] illuminating new biography... a clear and elegant account .” — Times Higher Education, Book of the Week

Convincing and gripping…a highly satisfying biography…Castor’s great coup is in framing this biography within another context...it puts the women back into the story…Castor’s book is an important way of returning Joan’s ‘star’ to the realm where it belongs, the human one.

A triumph - brings the real Joan and her time to dramatic, moving and brilliant life.

Castor brings keenly observed historical details to the grandeur and drama of the political and religious turmoil of medieval Europe and an extraordinary young woman.

In Castor’s hands [Joan’s] voice comes across in a truly vibrant way that illuminates her personality as few others have managed…eye-opening, engaging, and overall, excellent non-fiction…Castor’s outstanding ability to convey the important events and people that made up the political landscape make this one a winner.

Castor’s account is filled with gruesome murders, even more gruesome accidents, and layers of intrigue that make Game of Thrones look like child’s play…enjoyable…never dull, thanks to Castor’s knack for weaving in salacious bits, usually involving a particularly unfortunate death.

An amazing read…This is a true story from the histories and journals of the times that reads like fiction…one of the best histories I have encountered.

A book that shows vividly what Joan meant to those in her own time, politically and militarily…fascinating

JOAN OF ARC: A HISTORY is popular history at its best: pacy, clear and undergirded with a formidable array of scholarly footnotes. Helen Castor shows how well it can be done.

Clear and elegant ... an engaging piece of popular scholarship that does not diminish Joan’s star, but instead uses its light to illuminate a remarkable age.

…quite intriguing. This book is a great historical read.

Compelling ... [Castor] succeeds triumphantly in rescuing [Joan] from the various straitjackets in which she has been confined ... a fascinating and privileged insight.

Gripping…Written to the impeccable standards of her award-winning bestseller, SHE-WOLVES, Castor’s meticulous untangling of six centuries’ worth of incredibly complex and contradictory detail into elegant prose is a thing of wonder…Castor doesn’t make history fun or cool in JOAN OF ARC. She makes it shockingly, poignantly, irresistibly real.

A fascinating biography ... truly thrilling.

[An] excellent retelling of the strange tale of the Maid from Domrémy...JOAN OF ARC: A HISTORY is popular history at its best

With the meticulous scholarship that she revealed in SHE-WOLVES, and in the same captivating manner, Helen Castor presents us with a very compelling analysis.

There have been many lives of Joan, and books about her times, some of them excellent. But none is quite like Castor’s ... [her] book is a historian’s achievement.

An elegant, subtle biography of great historical integrity and sensitive understanding. Castor lets the humanity of Joan’s story shine through.

Excellent ... perhaps Castor’s greatest achievement is to remind us of just how extraordinary Joan was.

Enlightening ... [an] elegant and vivid account.

[A] vivid and intelligent biography ... hugely impressive.

A book that shows vividly what Joan meant to those in her own time, politically and militarily…fascinating

Castor brings keenly observed historical details to the grandeur and drama of the political and religious turmoil of medieval Europe and an extraordinary young woman.

"An unorthodox yet erudite and elegant biography of this 'massive star.'" —Kirkus

10/15/2015
Though many listeners may be familiar with the later life of Joan of Arc (1412–31)—leading an army to victory after hearing the voice of God, burned at the stake at age 19, and made a saint 500 years later—most of them have likely have not given any serious thought to the events of her childhood or her coming of age. In this new work, which draws on transcripts of Joan's two trials, allowing listeners to hear performances of Joan and her friends and family in their own words, Castor (history, Cambridge Univ; Blood and Roses) reminds listeners of the passion in the woman who became an icon. Anne Flosnik narrates the book with great sensitivity. VERDICT This finely written book is recommended for listeners who are interested in history, biography, or Joan of Arc herself. ["Readers interested in history, rather than folklore, will find this detailed framing of Joan's story very rewarding": LJ 4/1/15 review of the Harper hc.]—Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

04/01/2015
The title of this work explains what we need to know. This is not a biography, nor a religious parable or a folktale recast. Castor (She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth) has thoroughly rooted the story of the Maid of Orléans in its social, dynastic, and military context. Joan herself does not appear until a third of the way through the book; Castor begins nearly 30 years earlier and proceeds to paint a detailed picture of French politics and—with the help of several family trees—the elaborate crosscurrents of the French and English empires during the Hundred Years' War. By the time Joan enters the story, the reader understands the forces in play that allowed an illiterate peasant girl to gain an audience with the deposed heir to France's throne and lead an army to multiple victories before her capture, trial, and execution for heresy (and cross-dressing)—as well as the reasons for the "nullification trial" 25 years afterward to rehabilitate her name. Castor's research is thorough and her account at times dense but always fascinating. VERDICT Readers interested in history, rather than folklore, will find this detailed framing of Joan's story very rewarding. [See Prepub Alert, 11/17/14.]—Lisa Peet, Library Journal

Anne Flosnik’s graceful, dignified voice is perfectly appropriate for Joan the Maid. Flosnik’s French accent is flawless, and she rolls through place names without hesitation. Helen Castor’s history of Joan places her in the political context and violent conflicts of her time. It’s complicated and can be confusing, but the best approach is just to listen and soak up the environment. Joan famously answered the call of God to lead a French army in waging war against the English while wearing a man’s clothing. Her life may have been short, but martyrdom and canonization made her into what Castor calls a “massive star.” Castor includes lengthy transcripts from Joan’s trial, and Flosnik employs a slightly lower and quieter tone for Joan’s testimony in her own defense. A fine performance. A.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

2015-02-03
A fresh attempt to put young, willful Joan the Maid squarely back at the center of the French-English drama of early- to mid-15th-century France.If readers can wade through the mystifying details of the struggle for supremacy between the Burgundians (allied to the English and King Henry V) and the Armagnacs (devoted to Charles of Valois), a reward awaits when Joan finally appears midway in British author Castor's (She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, 2010, etc.) historical account. Deciding which side God was on seemed to be the order of the day, and after their humiliating defeat by the English at Agincourt in 1415, the French were hard-pressed to understand why God had chosen the aggressive English invaders to punish them for some unspecified sin. Indeed, Joan was not the first female visionary to appear to advocate for the cause of France. Both Marie Robine (d. 1399) and Jeanne-Marie de Maillé (1331-1414) had broadcast their visions to urge an end to schism. Joan, an illiterate shepherdess at age 16, had left her home village to set out on a mission to speak with the dauphin, housed at Chinon. Her astonishing claims to have been instructed by God to raise an army and drive the English from France so that Charles could be properly crowned required some testing of her integrity, including her virginity. Her adoption of male clothing seemed both an aid in riding and waging war and a way to thwart the sexual advances of men, which plagued her constantly up until her imprisonment. Her victories at Orleans, Jargeau, Patay and Meung, sending the English fleeing in confusion, galvanized the soldiers and townspeople, while her capture at Compiègne suddenly indicated that God had forsaken her. Castor carefully combs the record of her interrogation then and rehabilitation 25 years later. An unorthodox yet erudite and elegant biography of this "massive star."