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Chapters (43)
  1. Cover
  2. Epigraph
  3. CAST OF CHARACTERS
  4. Map
  5. Part One
  6. I
  7. II
  8. III
  9. IV
  10. V
  11. VI
  12. VII
  13. Part Two
  14. I
  15. II
  16. III
  17. IV
  18. V
  19. VI
  20. VII
  21. VIII
  22. IX
  23. X
  24. Part Three
  25. I
  26. II
  27. III
  28. IV
  29. V
  30. Part Four
  31. I
  32. II
  33. III
  34. IV
  35. V
  36. VI
  37. EPILOGUE
  38. afterword
  39. Dedication
  40. acknowledgments
  41. By Katherine J. Chen
  42. about the author
  43. What’s next onyour reading list?

He doesn’t wait for her reply. Instead, he paces. “So, God’s appointed is learning to read and write. And one day, she may even be able to understand Aristotle. She may master Latin and Greek, and what world will we wake up to, do you think, when she is able to quote the philosophers and poets as readily as she can fire a crossbow or draw a knife? For she is already by reputation the greatest warrior in Christendom. She is famous in every duchy, ditch, and fox hole of Europe. Soon she will have the might of both the sword and the pen on her side. And though it is inconceivable, though it should be impossible, an abomination, she is also a natural leader of men. So, I ask you, Joan, what world will France wake up to when you have everything and everyone lined up under your giant thumb?”

A better one, she doesn’t say. She turns her back to him. She walks away, but the door to the chapel flies open. La Trémoille steps through, flanked by two men.

“Ah, Georges,” the Archbishop says. “I was just discussing the coronation of the Dauphin with our friend.”

La Trémoille sighs. “A ceremony seven years delayed,” he says, addressing the air somewhere far above her head.

As he waddles past, ignoring her, she catches the eye—hard and angry—of one of his followers, and her gaze drops to his hand. It is bandaged. Through layers of white linen, she spots the first flush of blood: an innocent pink bloom.

Part Four

The journey to Reims takes approximately nineteen days, from late June to mid-July 1429. Having heard of the feats Joan performed at Orléans, many towns surrender and open their gates to the Dauphin without resistance. However, the city of Troyes refuses to capitulate, and the French army is forced to halt its progress and settle in for a siege. This is potentially disastrous, as supplies are quickly running out. Soon the men will starve.

Some may call it luck. Others a miracle. But well before Joan’s arrival, a friar had predicted to the people of the city that the end times were nigh and encouraged them to plant beans in order to prepare. These same beans ripen in time for this siege and end up feeding the French army. After only four days, Troyes surrenders.

The rest of the journey goes smoothly. On 16 July 1429, two towns not far from Reims, Châlons and Sept-Saulx, open their gates, and the same day, the Dauphin safely reaches his destination.

Around this time, the leaders of France’s enemies, the Duke of Bedford and the Duke of Burgundy, meet in Paris to further cement their alliance.

I

REIMS, 16 JULY 1429 THE DAY BEFORE THE CORONATION