How did an illiterate 17-year-old peasant girl manage to become one of histories most salient females? It is almost 600 years since Joan of Arc heard the voices of angels that would change her life forever: in a breathtaking story her quest saved France from English domination and restored France's hereditary monarchy. Just thirteen when her life changed forever, Joan's holy guidance led her on an arduous eleven-day journey into the unknown, restoring the Dauphin back to his original birthright in an official coronation where he was able to resume his rule as France's legitimate king. Joan summoned and led an impressive army of French loyalists against the English, marking the siege at Orleans as an exhilarating English defeat that would liberate the city. The following year witnessed Joan's capture by the enemy. After a series of heroic endeavours to escape cruel adversaries, she was subjected to trial by inquisition and then in Rouen, the heart of France, Joan's courageous journey came to a heartbreaking conclusion. This is the story at the core of centuries of myth-making. But what if we no longer accept this tale? What if we question whether the Heavens and their angels were truly Joan's only source of strength and power? What if we demand a different narrative? This revisionist biography unearths the secular and verifiable basis for Joan's heroic exploits: Yolande of Aragon, a forgotten mentor. This is a story of not one life, but two; two lives that together were intertwined in the restoration of France's greatness.
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About the Author:
Nancy Goldstone is the author of FOUR QUEENS - The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe, and JOANNA. www.nancygoldstone.com/
Review:
Joan's fleeting moment at the centre of Anglo-French politics retains its historical and cultural currency precisely because her story is never less than compelling; and Yolande of Aragon is a significant and fascinating example of those medieval women who brought extraordinary intellectual capacity and hard-won political expertise to bear on a structure of power that assumed its leaders would be male. -- Helen Castor SUNDAY TIMES 20120101 Yolande, as an astute politician, was savvy enough to cover her tracks, but, says Goldstone, without her there would be no Joan of Arc. THE TIMES 20120121 The story has been told many times but Goldstone tells it well...She writes very well, with a talent for locating neglected tales, and she has a rare ability to bring the past to life. -- Jonathan Wright GLASGOW HERALD Goldstone recognises and makes clear the great influence of these two remarkable women on the course of French history. -- Zoe McIntyre FRANCE MAGAZINE An eye-opening book, muchn of its evidence taken from primary sources that rewrites history with all the drama and pace of a good thriller. GOOD BOOK GUIDE This story...has now been retold with verve and a fresh approach by Nancy Goldstone...(a) highly readable book. -- John Ure COUNTRY LIFE
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- PublisherGeorge Weidenfeld & Nicholson
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 0297863363
- ISBN 13 9780297863366
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages296
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Rating