Joan 

Joan, the child, growing up with a violent father, in a brutal time, living in fear of the English who could plunder and attack their homes at any time, leaving starvation, and desolation as a result. 

 

Joan, who experiences loss and brutality daily but whose life is warmed by the goodness of her sister Catherine.

 

Joan, the young woman who grows and grows and grows to become as tall as her brothers, as strong as a man and fearless because of the harshness of her life already.

 

Joan, who when challenged to an archery competition and picks up a bow for the first time, feels a strength that is the culmination of her life, her frustrations and her own being come together; “she felt an energy vibrate through her body, just over her heart, a sensation like a hardness unravelling’ (pg. 230). 

 

Joan, the warrior, fighting her first battle at Orleans. Fighting and leading, men of war.

 

Joan, the victorious, returning Orleans to the rightful king of France, Charles VIII.

 

How does a 19-year-old peasant achieve both the adoration of the French King and his subjects, and conversely, the hate and fear of the English.

 

The author has magnificently reimaged one of Frances famous heroines from her birth in 1412 to the other end of her life in 1431, aged 19.

 

This interpretation of Joans short life turns the Joan of dry history on its head. We see Joan as an ordinary human of love, fears, loss, victories, and failures. Sometimes out of her depth but always just taking the next step forward.

 

I enjoyed the detail about life in the 15th century (pottage and starvation for the poor, excess, and politics for the wealthy).
 

The story moved along well with the characters well developed and entirely relatable to people around us in our lives in the 21st century.

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