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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?

The pitfall of writing a character so monumental, one who occupies such a glorious and, I believe, pure and unsullied space in history, is that the writer inevitably falls in love with her subject. But the irony is: to even embark on the adventure of writing such a character requires deviating from her history. There are many wonderful biographies of Joan. I had the honor of sifting through her incredible life and picking out the pieces that resonated most with me and then honing and polishing them in order to create a story. I had to bring the alabaster Joan down from the pedestal on which we have all put her, and talk to her, one woman to another. “Tell me about yourself,” I said, and from the pages of biographies and historical texts, her voice spoke. I listened and considered the entire span of her life. The years of her youth, which are commonly passed over. The months of astonishing glory on the battlefield. The final stretch of defeat, disgrace, and tragedy, which, though she experienced despair, miraculously never completely shattered her spirit. And to make her flesh and blood, I had to imagine—everything from the name of her dog (a curse word) to her appearance. To conclude from this rich material, this astonishing and truly singular life, that she was only a servant of God following orders from the unseen and a devotee of the church who kept herself pure through her virginity would be a gross underestimation of the sheer magnetism of her personality, her leadership, and her inimitable courage. Faith makes us strong, but we cannot ascribe everything to faith, at the expense of human works. We must remember that God shows Himself in the world in many forms, and among these is genius, though the manifestation of genius is always in the concrete: in music, in art, in literature, in the sciences, and, in Joan’s case, in war. This was my interpretation of her life.

After six hundred years, Joan is still a force to be reckoned with. Many people are drawn to her. And why not? A number of attributes of human nature worthy of admiration and that—we can only hope—may justify our continued existence on this earth are in her: a young woman born in obscurity who fought for what she loved, and who lived her short life to the very fullest.

This book is a reimagining of that life. It is also an offering to the inextinguishable light of her legacy. She, Joan, is never forgotten, but always remembered, admired, and loved.

Dedication

To Joan

(1412–1431)

acknowledgments