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wormythebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
lindseysparks's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell, one of my favorite narrators. I enjoyed it, but felt like there were some places where other historical figures aren't introduced clearly and she made random references to how Joan was portrayed on film in places. I think that would have been seeved better as its own chapter. They felt out of place. I did appreciate that the author discusses how Joan may have been schizophrenic or playing a political game rather than actually hearing voices, although she seems to favor a religious explanation without explicitly saying so.
juliaz_13's review against another edition
2.0
More a lit review about Joan of Arc media and how it ties back to the history as opposed to just the history. Hagiographic.
bookherd's review against another edition
3.0
When I was in 4th or 5th grade I read a children's biography of Joan of Arc and became obsessed with her. After that, I read everything our school library had about her...and then moved on to other obsessions. Reading Kathryn Harrison's new biography was not at all like reading those books selected for children--not even the ones that didn't gloss over the horror of being kept chained in prison, interrogated by hostile prosecutors or burned to death.
Harrison's biography includes both testimony from people who knew Joan of Arc and spoke at her "nullification" trial (the trial that cleared her of her heresy and witchcraft conviction 30 years after her death) and representations of her from the biographies, plays and movies which have portrayed her over the centuries. It is a mixture of historical evidence and cultural interpretation that is not particularly well integrated.
Harrison's own portrayal of Joan is as a Christ-like figure. She interposes scenes from the Gospels in places where Joan's life could be said to be paralleling the life of Jesus and frequently points out other ways in which Joan is a kind of Messiah for her people. I found the emphasis on Joan as Messiah a little overbearing, in fact--the point was clear to me after 2 or 3 examples and I could have done with less reminding.
I did find this book fascinating and very readable in its historical detail, though. In particular, I had not realized as a 5th grader how upsetting it was for a 15th century woman to dress as a man or for a commoner to dress as a noble. I had not realized how much recorded testimony there was from both of her trials, either. Although I had learned many basic facts about Joan of Arc as a school kid, I learned more from Kathryn Harrison's book, especially about what it's possible to know.
All in all, I'd recommend this book with the caution that Harrison's attempt to both write a biography and mythologize Joan of Arc's story doesn't quite work.
Harrison's biography includes both testimony from people who knew Joan of Arc and spoke at her "nullification" trial (the trial that cleared her of her heresy and witchcraft conviction 30 years after her death) and representations of her from the biographies, plays and movies which have portrayed her over the centuries. It is a mixture of historical evidence and cultural interpretation that is not particularly well integrated.
Harrison's own portrayal of Joan is as a Christ-like figure. She interposes scenes from the Gospels in places where Joan's life could be said to be paralleling the life of Jesus and frequently points out other ways in which Joan is a kind of Messiah for her people. I found the emphasis on Joan as Messiah a little overbearing, in fact--the point was clear to me after 2 or 3 examples and I could have done with less reminding.
I did find this book fascinating and very readable in its historical detail, though. In particular, I had not realized as a 5th grader how upsetting it was for a 15th century woman to dress as a man or for a commoner to dress as a noble. I had not realized how much recorded testimony there was from both of her trials, either. Although I had learned many basic facts about Joan of Arc as a school kid, I learned more from Kathryn Harrison's book, especially about what it's possible to know.
All in all, I'd recommend this book with the caution that Harrison's attempt to both write a biography and mythologize Joan of Arc's story doesn't quite work.
lindseysparks's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell, one of my favorite narrators. I enjoyed it, but felt like there were some places where other historical figures aren't introduced clearly and she made random references to how Joan was portrayed on film in places. I think that would have been seeved better as its own chapter. They felt out of place. I did appreciate that the author discusses how Joan may have been schizophrenic or playing a political game rather than actually hearing voices, although she seems to favor a religious explanation without explicitly saying so.
nivek1385's review against another edition
3.0
N.B. I received a free copy of this book through the First Reads program.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Not knowing the various intricacies of the historical Joan, I cannot comment on the veracity of the accuracy herein.
The book presents Joan as either a pre-feminist idol or a genuine God-sent warrior woman. At some points, it pushes more towards the former and hints that Joan just used the legend to her advantage in getting around a woman's station at that point in history. At other points, it seems to really express the idea that she is almost equivalent to Jesus and was sent by God to be the savior of France. It also presents Joan as not understanding the political maneuvering around and with her, which I'm not convinced was the case historically. She seems to have protected her own image and reputation with such fervor that it seems unlikely that she did not understand the politicking of La Pucelle. If she understood that much, surely she understood the general state of politics as well, at least to some degree.
I particularly thought it was interesting to not only explore the historical Joan in this, but also the fictional Joan. The author goes through popular portrayals of Joan in literature, film, television, stage, etc. at various points through the timeline of her life. She presents a historical narrative, and interweaves the various popular culture media entries throughout (while making sure to properly indicate what is fiction and what is from historical records).
I definitely recommend this to any fans of histories and biographies, anyone with special interest in Joan, and, because of the heaviness at times of the proto-feminism angle, to anyone interested in feminist-literature. I honestly think that that may be the selling point for this book: the proto-feminist message of Joan-of-Arc.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Not knowing the various intricacies of the historical Joan, I cannot comment on the veracity of the accuracy herein.
The book presents Joan as either a pre-feminist idol or a genuine God-sent warrior woman. At some points, it pushes more towards the former and hints that Joan just used the legend to her advantage in getting around a woman's station at that point in history. At other points, it seems to really express the idea that she is almost equivalent to Jesus and was sent by God to be the savior of France. It also presents Joan as not understanding the political maneuvering around and with her, which I'm not convinced was the case historically. She seems to have protected her own image and reputation with such fervor that it seems unlikely that she did not understand the politicking of La Pucelle. If she understood that much, surely she understood the general state of politics as well, at least to some degree.
I particularly thought it was interesting to not only explore the historical Joan in this, but also the fictional Joan. The author goes through popular portrayals of Joan in literature, film, television, stage, etc. at various points through the timeline of her life. She presents a historical narrative, and interweaves the various popular culture media entries throughout (while making sure to properly indicate what is fiction and what is from historical records).
I definitely recommend this to any fans of histories and biographies, anyone with special interest in Joan, and, because of the heaviness at times of the proto-feminism angle, to anyone interested in feminist-literature. I honestly think that that may be the selling point for this book: the proto-feminist message of Joan-of-Arc.
gregoreads's review against another edition
4.0
While not always un-put-down-ably compelling, I found this to be an excellent source for the life of Joan of Arc. It went chronologically, which I was grateful for as I really didn't know anything about Joan aside from her end, so I was able to follow her from her childhood through her military campaigns to her trial and finally her death. I feel that Joan's personality was quite well rendered in what I read, and I have a solid vision of a pious but fiercely strong girl. I loved hearing about all the things that happened around Joan that just seem crazy, like the stag that won a battle, the arrow that went through her chest and didn't stop her from rejoining another, how she survived her jump from her tower, and so many other things that are proven but unexplainable. I'm really glad I picked up this biography and took the time to learn more about this iconic heroine.