by Howard Pyle
First published 2022
Joan hears voices calling her to save France from English occupation. The young peasant girl from Domrémy convinces the Dauphin to grant her an audience at his court in Chinon. Despite skepticism from nobles and clergy, she persuades them of her divine mission. Joan dons armor and leads French forces to lift the siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War. Her military victories restore hope to a demoralized nation and clear the path for the Dauphin's coronation at Reims. But political intrigue and religious suspicion shadow her triumphs. Captured by Burgundian allies of the English, Joan faces trial for heresy and witchcraft. The same voices that once guided her to glory now offer only silence as she confronts her fate. Pyle's retelling captures both the miraculous rise of the Maid of Orléans and the tragic forces that destroyed her, revealing how a simple farm girl became the symbol of French resistance and national identity.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, war, military-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, tragic-hero
Setting: Domrémy, Chinon, Orléans, Reims
Period: 15th-century
66 pages · Hardcover · Legare Street Press