Joan of Arc: A History

This book is subtitled A History, and it's very true to that outlook, so if you're looking for a true biography this isn't for you. Joan doesn't even enter the narrative until about 1/3 of the way through, as Castor spends quite a bit of time setting up the context in which she appeared. I knew only the vague outlines of her story beforehand (teenager, claimed to have heard voices, dressed like a boy and lead men in battle in defense of the dauphin's right to the throne of France and to drive the English out of France, was burned at the stake), so it was actually immensely interesting and helpful to learn more about the time period, and understand that not only was France at war with England, France was experiencing civil war at the same time. And when Joan does finally appear, we don't learn more about her early life or any of those standard biographical details. Instead, she's already 17 and determined to meet the dauphin (who had already been crowned, actually, at this point, but not yet anointed), to tell him that he was destined to not only be officially enthroned but to reconquer France. And briefly, everything seems great: she wins early battles that start the tide turning her side's way. But then there are some defeats, and capture, trial, and ultimately death. There were two trials, it happens: first by her English captors, who had every political reason to and did condemn her, and then a second one by the French after the once-improbable recapture of nearly all of their territory, which had every political reason to and did exonerate her. I found it relatively accessible, as a history. There are a lot of players with a lot of complex and interconnected interests, but it wasn't too hard to keep track of who was who. It left me with lots of questions about Joan herself but also made a case as to why the surviving documentary evidence (and the political forces at play behind it) is unlikely to be able to draw a true portrait of a woman, hardly more than a girl, who rocketed to a significant place on the world stage and fell from grace just as quickly, becoming as much a symbol as a person. If you're interested in Joan or the Hundred Years' War, I'd recommend this!