It wasn’t until I started reading this impressive new novel by Katherine J. Chen that I realised how little I know about Joan of Arc; she’s someone I’ve always been aware of, obviously, and I knew a few basic facts but apart from where she has appeared in the background in other historical novels, I’ve never read anything where Joan is the main focus of the book.

After a brief description of the political situation in France in the early 15th century, the novel opens in Domrémy, the small French village where Joan was born. It’s 1422 and France is currently engaged in the Hundred Years’ War, a conflict with England over the succession to the French throne. In quiet Domrémy, Joan grows up far away from the fighting, but faces conflict of her own – with her father, Jacques d’Arc, a violent and abusive bully who has never got over his disappointment that Joan was born a girl and not a boy. Then, one day, the village is attacked and burned by the English, Joan’s sister is raped, and Joan is left swearing revenge on the men she now sees as her enemies: the future Henry VI of England, his regent the Duke of Bedford and Philip, Duke of Burgundy.

A lot of time is devoted to these early years of Joan’s life and I did wonder when we would leave the child Joan behind and meet the warrior Joan, leading her troops into battle – but I can see why it was necessary to cover Joan’s childhood in so much detail. Only by reading about her treatment at the hands of her father, the stories told to her by her beloved uncle, her anger at the fate of her sister and her desire for revenge can we understand what made Joan the strong, determined and inspirational young woman she became. And eventually, of course, we do see Joan meeting the Dauphin of France and riding off with his army to lift the siege of Orléans.

What we don’t see at any point in this novel are miracles, visions or any other religious phenomena of any sort. Katherine J. Chen explains in her author’s note that this was a deliberate decision; her portrayal of Joan is a personal one rather than a traditional one and is a ‘reimagining’ of her life. Removing the religious aspects from Joan’s story makes her feel human, flawed and real, but at the same time the 15th century was a period in which religion was an important part of most people’s daily lives and taking this away from the story of a woman who has been declared a saint seems a bit odd.

This is a beautifully written novel and although I wish authors would stop using the present tense, it does work quite well here, as it did in Annie Garthwaite’s "Cecily" (a book this one is being compared with – and I would definitely agree with that comparison). It was good to have the opportunity to learn a bit more about Joan of Arc; even if this is only one author’s interpretation and a largely fictional one, I did enjoy it.

Beautiful cover and beautifully written. I’m amazed at how it brought Joan to life, how it captured her so authentically.

Wow I loved this book. I was expecting a standard history of Joan of Arc. This was anything but! The author states that this is a fictional retelling (with some historical facts) of the life of Joan of Arc but to me it felt a lot more real, almost as if I was reading her memoirs. A fascinating read.

Katherine J Chen has taken the bare bones of historical facts surrounding the life of Joan of Arc and intricately woven the threads of her story to create a new, reimagined Joan.

I thought this work of historical fiction was an immersing read. We are told that Joan's early childhood was harsh and cruel with regular beatings from her father. This shaped her into a strong and determined warrior, capable of enduring intense situations. This Joan however isn't religious and doesn't have visions as historical accounts tell us. So if you are looking for historical accuracy this may not be the book for you.

In the midst of The Hundred Years war between England and France, a peasant girl is born who will become a legend. Joan of Arc is a name most people know, but how much do we actually know about the person behind the legend? Katherine Chen’s novel is a re-imagining of Joan’s story starting from when she was a young girl living in a small village, to her rise within the French Army.

The character of Joan is so vividly constructed and realised and the time we spend with her as a young child allows us to really get to know her. Her upbringing is what moulds her; the constant beatings from her father, but also the deep love she has for her sister and her dog. This resilience and sense of right and wrong is what drives her, what motivates her to fight and rebel against traditional female roles. This Joan is not driven by visions from God. Instead, she is responsible for her own actions and has a more complicated relationship with religion. This is a bold choice by the author and not everyone will agree with it, but I found it refreshing that this Joan is portrayed as a woman who acts on her own autonomy rather than listening to external forces.

The writing in this book is gorgeous and I was fully immersed in the world of 15th Century France. The pacing in the first half is slow but this was my favourite part of the book as I loved getting to know and understand Joan. The latter half of the book is where I found myself struggling slightly as it dealt more with the political and military aspects. Perhaps this is because, although I knew how her story ended, I was fruitlessly hoping for a different outcome for this revolutionary girl.

I didn’t come away from this book feeling as if I knew more about Joan of Arc as this is very much the author’s imaginings of her life. However, I enjoyed reading about her and think Chen did an amazing job of bringing her to life.

A fresh and whip smart take on historical feminist legend Joan of Arc. Portrayed in a way you may have never seen her before. Of course this is fictional but it is fun to imagine Joan of Arc this way, with gorgeous writing and stunning descriptions. One for this summer.

This was an enjoyable read, though if you’re after historical accuracy I don’t think there is a great deal of it here. Or rather - what the author has done is to take the very bare bones of what is known about Joan of Arc’s early years and from that to build a speculative picture of how a harsh childhood may have made the historical figure we know. The religious aspect of the historical Joan is played down - there are no visions here - and instead we have a girl brought up without much love in her life but with a great deal of violence, who turns her physical ugliness and great strength and a hefty dose of personal adversity into a determination to help the weak Dauphin defeat the English and get him crowned as king.

Joan’s capture and trial for heresy are omitted in favour of building the character sketch and speculating on the making of the heroine. For me, however, this meant that the Joan in the book may as well have been a completely fictional character. And in a sense she is of course. So, an absorbing read, but not one that I felt gave me great insight into the historical Joan of Arc.

Before the narrative of the novel itself starts, Katherine J. Chen treats us to as clear and concise a summary one could hope to have of the pretty complicated situation in France in the early 1400s. And throughout, historical detail is introduced with a light touch, for example in a story told to Joan by her uncle.
Joan here is shown to be an ordinary, albeit hugely capable, girl. Rather than coming across as too bold or clever for one so young and inexperienced, Joan’s thoughts and actions are just common sense. The description of her childhood and need to put up and shut up and work hard sets up her ability to turn her hand to anything and support herself. Subjected to daily abuse from childhood, minor hardships pale by comparison: abandoned at night in a forest, she is able to draw on a similar experience meted out as punishment by her father. Having her as big and strong enough to rival any man lends weight to her ability. She has a powerful ally in the Dauphin’s mother Yolande but her influence too is curtailed, even royal women being subject to higher powers.
Far from having a calling from God, here Joan is shown as being suspicious of religion, afraid when singled out by a holy woman. But she shows compassion, describing her version of heaven to a bereaved mother. She is driven not so much divine intervention as consummate capability and indefatigable will. Faced with a seemingly hopeless situation, she doesn’t accept defeat and urges those around her to fight on. She grasps that war requires a whole industry to support it, that it is not just the fighting.
It has been a while since I read a non-fiction account of Joan’s life but I do remember how the French, Burgundians and English hung her out to dry. Underlying the events of the novel, there’s a grim inevitability to what is to come. Thankfully, Chen has chosen to leave the story before the worst happens – but Joan’s fall is as swift as Cromwell's in The Mirror and the Light, as that of Maximus in Gladiator.

This is a review I find hard to write as this is a compelling and well written fantasy book but it's a very personal retelling of a historical character.
I loved the style of writing, I didn't like how a feminist retelling didn't take into account that spirituality was the expression of freeedom for women in the age of Joan.
Joan is not the mystic burn as a witch for political reason and even I wasn't a fan of the "fantasy" Joan
To clarify: it this is a fantasy, good book. I don't agree and don't like it as a historical fiction.
I'm sure a lot of people will love it, it's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was really looking forward to reading this book and its factional (sic) look at the life of Jean D'arc but, by 30% of the way through, it still had not engaged me on any level and so, sadly, I have moved on. My 3 star rating is a a neutral score rather than a critical one.

A well written, captivating re-telling of the story of Joan of Arc.

I enjoy historical fiction but am not a huge fan of military/war stories so was surprised by how much I liked this story!

I got Joan by Katherine J. Chen, from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.


Joan is a historical fiction telling of the story of Joan of Arc the Maid of Orleans who inspired France to gain a territory lost to the English during the Hundred years war.

Joan was a wide ranging historical novel about one of the most famous females in history.telling the story of her childhood in a small french village, being beaten up by her father.

The story was told totally through the viewpoint of Joan herself, which allows us as readers to get into the mind of the titular character. This was really highlighted in the battle scenes, as the writer Katherine J. Chen, brought readers on to the battle and in the mind of Joan
herself.

Another thing that the writer did well was the way that personal relationships both in her home village and the further on in her life, affected how she was perceived both by those on her side and those against Joan.

I have seen that this novel is being portraid as a feminist retelling, while i sought of get it in away, that it is about a powerful woman in an age were few of their stories told, both in historical and fictional terms.

For example the wife of the Dauphine, Marie of Anjou, who appears in the novel herself, amongst other women of the period.

Having said that Joan by Katherine J. Chen, is still an historical fiction novel that I would recommend for people to read.

Given that I'm not very good with military related stories, I enjoyed this immensely. It's a well written interpretation of who Joan of Arc may have been, the childhood that turned her into the heroine she became. The strong will behind her. The grief that she drew strength from. Really quite inspiring and refreshing in equal measure. It's one to allow yourself just to get swept away with.

History is written by the victors. English children are usually told, that Joan of Arc was a young peasant girl, who had visions from God, who told her, she would fight against the English army and put the Dauphin of France back on his rightful throne. Joan was then betrayed by that same monarch and handed over to the English, who burnt her at the stake. My boys, when younger, and on holiday in Rouen, really enjoyed all the gory details that our tour guide gave us about this fact, the amount of questions they asked was almost embarrassing!!
This book concentrates upon Joan as a person, it concludes that strength and kindness was used in order to encourage her army in battle.
It isn’t mentioned about Joan having visions of God, St. Michael or any other saints, she undertakes this great undertaking from her love in, and pride in France. Joan could be considered a tomboy, but there are accurate accounts of how a humble maid, from Domremy, put Charles the seventh on the French throne. The many battles won and her rising popularity made the King and the Roman Catholic Church, very nervous, she threatened their authority, after all, women didn’t fight battles, dress in male armour, it went against the accepted manner of societal norms.
It was cowardice, or a fear of looking weak and unimportant that made Charles turn against his female saviour. His betrayal of Joan was political, he was frightened Joan would always be seen as the stronger person in the battles, the people would probably see her as the power behind his throne, therefore, she had to go. By doing this deed, Charles created a legend, which, I’m sure was not his intention. When you see that magnificent Golden statue of Joan in Paris, and the more humble one in Rouen, she is still remembered with pride and affection.
I loved this book for showing Joan as a human being, not a holy woman. She was only made a Saint in 1922, they evidently took French time to decide upon this!! It restores a sense of normality to a single minded and determined female.
My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton, for my digital advance copy in exchange for my honest review. The only disappointment was, the maps didn’t appear onto my Kindle, I’m sure this will be sorted out before publication. A five star read. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.

Joan is a wonderful, richly imagined and beautifully written book. Absolutely recommend for lovers of historical novels. It is at times reminiscent of Hilary Mantel at her very best, the highest praise I can give.

Having visited Rouen more than once and seen the memorial to Joan of Arc, where she was burnt at the stake, I was looking forward to reading this fictionalised account of her short life. I am pleased to say that it did not disappoint. The descriptions of Joan's life growing up in a French village on the border with Burgundy (separate kingdoms at this time, and at war) are detailed and harrowing at times. The book goes on to explain how a girl from such lowly beginnings could go on to become a great warrior. This Joan is not a religious person but a real tomboy, well used to fighting.

The contrast of her last 2 or 3 years of life is stark and also described in detail. It is easy to see how someone from Joan's sort of background could struggle at the whims of nobles, senior churchmen and the Dauphin. This is a very interesting and compelling novel which builds a true and believable character.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Not gonna lie I squealed when I saw I had been accepted for this read and I wasn't disappointed. This is a sweeping epic novel that is well written with a riveting storyline and well developed characters. Joan of Arc is a fictional character that I didn't know much about and that made this book all the more enjoyable. I also love retellings so I also loved it for those reasons. This will stay with me for a while and I will read it over and over.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and reading the blurb, as a big fan of the Wolf Hall trilogy I was very excited to read this.
Unfortunately I got half way but DNF. It is a beautifully written book but for me, the pacing was off and I just could not settle in to it. I enjoyed elements of Joan's childhood character however despite all her awful experiences there was just something preventing me from empathising with her and I also found the supporting characters a bit flat. I have no doubt that this will be a hit judging by all the rave reviews and it is exceedingly well written and researched but this just wasn't for me

All hail Joan of Arc....

I am so pleased Net Galley gave me the chance to read this book. Anything to do with brilliant, historical women of time gone by is perfection to me.

I really, really loved that the author decided to take on Joan of Arcs story. We can only imagine her trials and tribulations that she experienced and we have to rely on history to help us with how her life may have panned out. To read this work of art regarding Joan and the retelling of her rise and fall was fantastic.

I loved the authors style of writing, I found it a beautiful and compelling read and really easy to just carry on turning those pages. My heart broke for Joan regarding her beautiful sister Catherine. Of all the times to fall ill, that would be the one time where Joan was needed the most by the one she loved most in the world. I think Catherines story played a huge part in the person Joan was to become. In this book where not much love was found, the love between Cathering and Joan was everything to me. Knowing Joan was shown love by at least one person helped me to make it through the story without feeling angry every second.

Thank you so much for letting me have access to this beautiful book. The cover is also stunnign and i cant wait to see it in shops.

Currently off to research more about our famous Joan of Arc.

This stunning feminist retelling of Joan of Arc had me at page one!
Katherine J Chen has created a fiction tale weaved together with threads of truth to bring to life this incredible historical woman.

My favourite part of the story was the early section. Set in Domremy where Joan grew up. Raised by a violent and vile father, Joan had to learn to be tough, she came across as a scrappy, resilient heroine who I loved from the off!

This whole epic saga made for such a compelling, enjoyable read and I defy anyone who picks it up not to be routing for our formidable protagonist from page one!. The Author brought to life a legend I had only ever seen in statues and Art, and it was privilege to read her story