Joan - by Donald Spoto (Paperback)

About the Book

From the Back Cover

Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of astonishing common sense and a national heroine who led men in to battle as a courageous warrior. Yet she was also abandoned by the king whose coronation she secured, betrayed by her countrymen, and sold to the enemy. In this meticulously researched landmark biography, Donald Spoto captures her astonishing life and the times in which she lived. Neither wife nor nun, queen nor noblewoman, philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan of Arc demonstrates that everyone who follows their heart has the power to change history.

Review Quotes

"Spoto is a surprisingly apt biographer for [Joan] ...." - Slate

"A fresh and definitive biography in the context of Joan of Arc's times." - International Herald Tribune

"Spoto's new biography is like bringing reality TV into a 15th century courtroom . . .a stunning miscarriage of justice." - Denver Post

"Thought provoking and very readable... Joan's story is significant and should be retold...." - United Press International

"[Spoto] approaches his subject with the sophistication of a historian and the admiration of a true believer." - Washington Post

"I have never read a biography that affected me so deeply as a Catholic or as a woman." - Sr. Joan Chittister, author of Called to Question and columnist for The National Catholic Reporter

"...a lively, accessible book ...with a cogent discussion of faith, mystery and early church politics." - Washington Times

"Donald Spoto is one of the best biographers in the world today. " - Acclaimed biographer Mary S. Lovell, author of the national bestselling The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

"A magnificent introduction to one of the most misunderstood and controversial of all the saints." - James Martin, SJ, editor of America Magazine, author of My Life With the Saints

"A worthy contribution to a renewed understanding of a figure who still speaks to today's realities." - Library Journal

"[An] engaging, and at times gripping, biography." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)