Joan of Arc: A Life

131 Pages·2010·0.65 MB·English

by  Gordon Mary

Table of Contents
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgements
Introduction

CHAPTER I - OF HER TIME AND PLACE
CHAPTER II - APPROACHING THE THRONE
CHAPTER III - TRIUMPHANT IN BATTLE, THE KING’S ANOINTER
CHAPTER IV - WHAT KIND OF WARRIOR, WHAT KIND OF DEFEAT?
CHAPTER V - ACCUSED
CHAPTER VI - VIRGIN BODY
CHAPTER VII - FOOD FOR THE FEAST
CHAPTER VIII - SAINT JOAN

Notes
Backad TK
Praise for Joan of Arc
“Gordon writes not as a professional biographer, or as a historian, but as a
master of the story form, as a careful reader, as a woman attuned to power and
longing and as a believer for whom God is a mystery but not a stranger. Gordon
is perfectly matched with Joan of Arc, and the book she has written is both a
compelling life story and a shrewd analysis of the mythical uses to which it has
been put.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Agree or disagree with Gordon’s numerous insights and interpretations, she
gives us Joan as she was, letting us fully appreciate why the Maid will grip our
attention for all time.” —Forbes
“Gordon’s biographical meditation is a readable and substantive introduction to
the life and meaning of this medieval heroine.”
—Christian Century
“A bold ‘biographical meditation’ that persuades the skeptic to meditate on the
inexplicable something Joan made happen, and keeps on happening, to this day.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Gordon avoids the dramatic and approaches her brassy, devout and defiant
subject with a thoughtful air. Joan of Arc is an engaging meditation on one of the
West’s most memorable figures.”
—Star-Telegram (Fort Worth)
“A large part of the enjoyment here is the highly personal intelligence of
Gordon’s prose style, laying out the facts of Joan’s career and her martyrdom,
and considering their ramifications.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Gordon, McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College, is the
bestselling author of six novels, three collections of short stories, and two
memoirs. She lives in New York City.

PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London
WC2R 0RL, England First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin,
a member of Penguin Putnam Inc. 2000
Published in Penguin Books 2008
Copyright © Mary Gordon, 2000
All rights reserved
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint an excerpt from “Horae Canonicae”
from W. H. Auden: Collected Poems by W. H. Auden, edited by Edward Mendelson.
Copyright © 1955 by W. H. Auden. .
eISBN : 978-0-14311397-3
1. Joan, of Arc, Saint, 1412-1431. 2. Christian women saints—
France—Biography. 3. France—History—Charles VII, 1422-1461.
4. Charles VII, King of France, 1403-1461—Coronation. I. Title.
DC103.G68 2000
944’.026’292—dc21 99-055678

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