A review by ktrain3900
The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc by Nancy Goldstone

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

An entirely satisfactory book about Joan of Arc, who every little girl who grew up Catholic like me thinks they know, and Yolande of Aragon, who I must admit I hadn't heard of before reading this book. It's simple enough to say that without Yolande, there would be no Joan, or rather that we wouldn't know of Joan and she may never have been able to attempt her rather incredible exploits. But it's also that women were, and always have been, doing far more than history has shared with us, until the current crop of women scholars like Goldstone plucked their lives out of obscurity, much as Yolande plucked Joan (there were many potential Joans). I learned much about Yolande, and learned more than I'd previously known about Joan, and had my heart broken, and got to have a little chuckle here and there at the expense of some of the men in this tale, and walked away with a satisfied sigh. No real oomph here, perhaps, but much to think about.