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schmidtemilyk's review against another edition
4.0
Concise and thorough. Explained the complexities of the time and the issues at hand in ever stage of this piece of history. I felt it was well organized, easy to understand, and not overwhelmed with too many dates and details.
peaceofseoul's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately, this was not what I was looking for. I had hoped to pick up a biography of Joan of Arc but I was nearly 50% through the book by the time she is first mentioned and she disappears again not long after. I would categorize this book as a summary of events from Henry V's resumption of the hundred years war through to it's end, mentioning Joan where she is relevant but not much more amidst the acts of dozens of other political figures through this time. There is no discussion of her birth, her childhood, her family, or her upbringing. I would consider these things to be pertinent to discussion of her life as they can help frame her future choices and beliefs. There is no mention of what impact the English, Burgundians, or Armagnacs had on her town or early life that might have led her to have such strong belief in the Armagnacs or stanch hatred against the English. We meet her when Charles VII meets her, as a young woman adamant that he become king, and know her only through brief excerpts of her letters to her enemies, records from her trials, then in hindsight after her death. However, I appreciate this books attitude towards Joan, as it attempts to frame her deeds as they were interpreted at the time, as acts of either god or the devil, rather than with a modern lens which often attempts to diagnose her with various mental illnesses. Having finished the book now, I feel I have an understanding of the end of the war and the people of the time's attitudes towards divine visions, but sadly I know as little of Joan as I did before.
fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
More history than biography...
Helen Castor begins this retelling of the life of Joan the Maid by explaining that, although her story is better documented than most from this period, it isn't always possible to take the sources at face value. Since her legend was being created while she was still alive, and since so much hung on the idea of which side in the war had the support of God, then an inevitable bias has to be expected in the various accounts of her actions and words. So Castor has set out to put Joan's story into the context of the times, and to do that she starts fourteen years before Joan appears, taking us back to Agincourt, and then working forward.
This is a fairly short book, actually more history than biography. It's well-written and therefore easy to read, and Castor explains the various alliances and enmities clearly – having very little previous knowledge of the period, I was able to follow the various shifting loyalties without too much difficulty, and undoubtedly feel better informed about the events and personalities of the time. She describes the background to the feud between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs which split the French resistance to the English claim to the throne. And she shows how the English policy towards any final peace was circumscribed by the infancy of the King (after Henry V's death), with his regent in France, the Duke of Bedford, feeling unable to reach decisions to which young Henry VI might object when he came to power.
By taking this approach, by the time of Joan's arrival on the scene, Castor had built up enough of a picture of the near desperation of the Armagnac faction that it made it slightly less inexplicable why they would have been willing to give credence to this young girl, claiming to have been sent by God to lead an army and ensure the coronation of Charles VII. But only slightly. Though Castor does make clear the importance of religious symbolism and signs at the period, I felt that the crucial point of how exactly Joan got access to the French King remained a little vague. Castor tells us the events – when it happened, who accompanied her, etc., – but left me with no real feeling of why initially any of the important men around the King took her seriously. However, once having rather shimmied past that bit, Castor's descriptions of Joan's involvement in the war and subsequent capture and trial are very well told, with the various political pressures on all sides being clearly explained.
So as history the book works well, especially for someone like myself coming new to the period, though I did wonder if it was in depth enough to add much for people with a reasonable existing understanding of the people and events. I didn't feel it worked quite so well as biography however. Perhaps there isn't enough information available to make it possible, but I didn't come away from it feeling that I really understood Joan as a person. There is little about her background prior to her arriving at Charles' court, and after that, although the events are well described, somehow her personality didn't seem to come through.
There only seem to be two possibilities about Joan – either she actually was God's emissary on earth or she was mentally ill. Castor rather oddly doesn't seem to take a view on that. On the one hand, I felt strongly that she was implicitly ruling out the possibility of Joan being visited by angels telling her that God was on France's side, or more specifically on the side of the Armagnacs. But, on the other hand, she really gave no other interpretation. Not that I'm a great fan of retrospective diagnosis of mental illnesses, but I felt the possibility at least needed to be discussed. The result was that she remained a rather nebulous figure, to me at least.
Happily Castor doesn't end the story with Joan's death. She continues with the history of the war up to the point where the English were finally driven out of France – she doesn't delve into it in depth but covers it well enough so that it provides a satisfactory overview. And she also continues Joan's story after death, with the various reviews of her trial that eventually led to her being declared innocent of heresy. The epilogue tells the final chapter in her story – her canonisation as a saint in 1920.
Overall, I found this an interesting and informative read which, while it perhaps didn't wholly satisfy me as a biography, worked very well as an introduction to the history of the period.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Faber and Faber Ltd.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Helen Castor begins this retelling of the life of Joan the Maid by explaining that, although her story is better documented than most from this period, it isn't always possible to take the sources at face value. Since her legend was being created while she was still alive, and since so much hung on the idea of which side in the war had the support of God, then an inevitable bias has to be expected in the various accounts of her actions and words. So Castor has set out to put Joan's story into the context of the times, and to do that she starts fourteen years before Joan appears, taking us back to Agincourt, and then working forward.
This is a fairly short book, actually more history than biography. It's well-written and therefore easy to read, and Castor explains the various alliances and enmities clearly – having very little previous knowledge of the period, I was able to follow the various shifting loyalties without too much difficulty, and undoubtedly feel better informed about the events and personalities of the time. She describes the background to the feud between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs which split the French resistance to the English claim to the throne. And she shows how the English policy towards any final peace was circumscribed by the infancy of the King (after Henry V's death), with his regent in France, the Duke of Bedford, feeling unable to reach decisions to which young Henry VI might object when he came to power.
By taking this approach, by the time of Joan's arrival on the scene, Castor had built up enough of a picture of the near desperation of the Armagnac faction that it made it slightly less inexplicable why they would have been willing to give credence to this young girl, claiming to have been sent by God to lead an army and ensure the coronation of Charles VII. But only slightly. Though Castor does make clear the importance of religious symbolism and signs at the period, I felt that the crucial point of how exactly Joan got access to the French King remained a little vague. Castor tells us the events – when it happened, who accompanied her, etc., – but left me with no real feeling of why initially any of the important men around the King took her seriously. However, once having rather shimmied past that bit, Castor's descriptions of Joan's involvement in the war and subsequent capture and trial are very well told, with the various political pressures on all sides being clearly explained.
So as history the book works well, especially for someone like myself coming new to the period, though I did wonder if it was in depth enough to add much for people with a reasonable existing understanding of the people and events. I didn't feel it worked quite so well as biography however. Perhaps there isn't enough information available to make it possible, but I didn't come away from it feeling that I really understood Joan as a person. There is little about her background prior to her arriving at Charles' court, and after that, although the events are well described, somehow her personality didn't seem to come through.
There only seem to be two possibilities about Joan – either she actually was God's emissary on earth or she was mentally ill. Castor rather oddly doesn't seem to take a view on that. On the one hand, I felt strongly that she was implicitly ruling out the possibility of Joan being visited by angels telling her that God was on France's side, or more specifically on the side of the Armagnacs. But, on the other hand, she really gave no other interpretation. Not that I'm a great fan of retrospective diagnosis of mental illnesses, but I felt the possibility at least needed to be discussed. The result was that she remained a rather nebulous figure, to me at least.
Happily Castor doesn't end the story with Joan's death. She continues with the history of the war up to the point where the English were finally driven out of France – she doesn't delve into it in depth but covers it well enough so that it provides a satisfactory overview. And she also continues Joan's story after death, with the various reviews of her trial that eventually led to her being declared innocent of heresy. The epilogue tells the final chapter in her story – her canonisation as a saint in 1920.
Overall, I found this an interesting and informative read which, while it perhaps didn't wholly satisfy me as a biography, worked very well as an introduction to the history of the period.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Faber and Faber Ltd.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
salviguitarwitch's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
rpnelson's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a book about Joan's personality or an attempt to "get inside her head." Which is to its credit. This book puts her in a historical context, starting with Henry V's victory at Azincourt and ending with the restoration of France to French rule, with a coda on the canonization of Saint Joan.
On that score, I think it's an excellent book. It doesn't go into details about life at court or in Joan's hometown of Domrémy, or what the peasants ate vs. the nobility or any of that kind of detail, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed.
On the other hand, it's very enlightening on why France was fractured, with Duke Philip of Burgundy siding with the English (until he didn't) and the key influence of Yolande of Aragon in supporting various factions at court and supporting Joan herself. It also follows the various campaigns of the war and the theological discourses about the validity of Joan's claims. The amount of time spent by the clergy discussing her choice to wear men's clothing is sort of astonishing.
On that score, I think it's an excellent book. It doesn't go into details about life at court or in Joan's hometown of Domrémy, or what the peasants ate vs. the nobility or any of that kind of detail, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed.
On the other hand, it's very enlightening on why France was fractured, with Duke Philip of Burgundy siding with the English (until he didn't) and the key influence of Yolande of Aragon in supporting various factions at court and supporting Joan herself. It also follows the various campaigns of the war and the theological discourses about the validity of Joan's claims. The amount of time spent by the clergy discussing her choice to wear men's clothing is sort of astonishing.
clotalksbooks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Very interesting account of this period of history. Fairly accessible, though I must admit to getting confused between people at times.
Although I understood the need/wishes of the author to set Joan's story in the context of the period, I felt this was a bit imbalanced. It is a long time before Joan even features, and when she does she appears infrequently. Then all too soon she is gone again while we hear about the outcomes of the lengthy war. It is all interesting, but I found myself wanting to know more about the titular figure.
I understand it is probably very difficult to find out how she would have thought etc. But I felt we were learning more about how others viewed her, when I was desperate to find out more what was going on in her own mind. I feel more could perhaps have been done to analyse her letters etc., set in the context of gender, other figures who had visions, to give more of a feeling of Joan. As it is, it felt more a study of war/conflict.
A note about this edition in particular, I really liked the images that were included.
Although I understood the need/wishes of the author to set Joan's story in the context of the period, I felt this was a bit imbalanced. It is a long time before Joan even features, and when she does she appears infrequently. Then all too soon she is gone again while we hear about the outcomes of the lengthy war. It is all interesting, but I found myself wanting to know more about the titular figure.
I understand it is probably very difficult to find out how she would have thought etc. But I felt we were learning more about how others viewed her, when I was desperate to find out more what was going on in her own mind. I feel more could perhaps have been done to analyse her letters etc., set in the context of gender, other figures who had visions, to give more of a feeling of Joan. As it is, it felt more a study of war/conflict.
A note about this edition in particular, I really liked the images that were included.