Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
You might think Joan of Arc’s tale has been told enough times, but this detailed, lived-in portrait puts the legendary historical figure firmly into her own time and place, imagining the martyred saint as a fierce, funny, resourceful giant of a teen whose escape from her abusive father lands her in the midst of the corrupt political world of France near the end of the Hundred Years’ War.
Life in Domrémy in 1422 is rich but complex; far from being simple peasants, the citizens are politically astute and upwardly mobile in spite of periodic attacks by the allied forces of England and Burgundy. The disaster of Agincourt is recent, and Joan is raised to despise the memory of English King Henry and revere the efforts of the Dauphin of France to reclaim his throne. A tragic ending to a mock-battle between the children of neighboring villages inspires 10-year-old Joan to use her talent for fixing what is broken to benefit her entire community; as she grows into her remarkable size, strength, and charisma, she catches the attention of the jaded aristocrats in exile who mistake her organizational genius for divine mystique. The reader almost forgets Joan’s tragic fate as we marvel at her ability to fix her mind on the goal of a unified France, while also possessing the practical ability to communicate with and inspire people from all walks of life.
Chen is interested in the human Joan, not the visionary, and the voice she creates for her is unforgettable: blunt, sarcastic, affectionate, and insightful. Her religious “voices” in this version are rendered as flashes of forward-thinking insight into potential military and political outcomes. This is the richest characterization of a historical figure I’ve encountered since Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, and Chen’s achievement belongs in that august company.
