Joan of Arc: The Warrior Saint

by Stephen W. Richey

It began with voices―St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret speaking to an ordinary farmer's daughter. Inspired to aid the future King Charles VII, whose right to the throne had been denied by the English in the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc made her journey clad in male attire. Theologians testified to the veracity of her divine claims, and she was furnished with a host of troops. But how did she achieve the military feats that made her a legend?

Stephen W. Richey offers a unique look at this remarkable woman. Joan of Arc rapidly matured into a true battle commander who spoke forcefully in war councils, made decisions, and gave orders that were obeyed―resulting in a stunning series of victories for her army. She achieved this feat by virtue of her unschooled but intuitive genius for war, a charismatic personality that inspired her soldiers to heroic feats, and her ability to exploit a unique set of lucky circumstances.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, France, Historical

188 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2003

Reviews

[Dan Sendker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Richey's knowledge of the subject is matched only by his passion for it. He organizes his book along two points: what did Joan do and how did she do it. Both are treated in a way that military experts will identify with and novices, like me, will understand and appreciate. The whole book was incredible.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't read biographies--I personally find them boring. But I thought I'd give this book a chance, plus I needed to learn more about my revolutionary. The book focused on Joan of Arc's military career instead of discussing every single detail of her life which was good. I was able to get a lot of information out of the book because it related well to my arguments.

I liked the author's writing style. It was informative and admirable of Joan at the same time. I also thought that the sentences weren't so full of information that it made me want to go to sleep. I was actually interested and wanted to keep reading. That isn't a reaction that usually happens when I read biographies of any kind.

Overall, I liked it. I liked how the information was set up and the fact that it didn't bore me to tears. Considering how much I dislike biographies, this book was really good. The language wasn't too difficult to understand and it was interesting. I would recommend this book to anybody who needs to learn about Joan of Arc from a militaristic point of view or anybody who's interested.

[Holly Stephey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her life xxx

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the history, but some parts ran a little dry.