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Joan of Arc

A Life

Penguin Lives

Mary Gordon - Author

Paperback | $15.00 | add to cart | view cart
ISBN 9780143113973 | 208 pages | 29 Jul 2008 | Penguin | 8.26 x 5.23in | 18 - AND UP
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“ A master of the story form” (The New York Times) offers a fresh, revealing portrait of the legendary saint

Celebrated novelist Mary Gordon brings Joan of Arc alive as a complex figure full of contradictions and desires, as well as spiritual devotion. A humble peasant girl, Joan transformed herself into the legendary Maid of Orléans, knight, martyr, and saint. Following the voice of God, she led an army to victory and crowned the king of France, only to be captured and burned at the stake as a heretic—all by the age of nineteen. Gordon does more than tell this gripping story—she explores Joan’s mystery and the many facets of her inspiring life.

“ [A] compelling life story and a shrewd analysis of the mythical uses to which it has been put.”
The New York Times

“ A large part of the enjoyment here is the highly personal intelligence of Gordon’s prose style.”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer


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