Virgin warrior

Larissa Juliet Taylor's biography follows Joan of Arc from her humble beginnings to her death, presenting her as a determined, self-assured young woman whose personality inspired allies and unnerved English commanders. It places her within the Hundred Years' War, a period when people believed in visions and sorcery, holy figures were thought to appear to country folk, and sieges could determine who ruled a kingdom.

Joan rallied French troops and townspeople during a time of war, yet her career was brief. She could be stubborn and hard to manage, and she refused to yield to those who opposed her, even when facing a trial that ended in her execution by burning.

Taylor also examines the legends and fantasies that grew around Joan after her death. The book shows how a farm girl who helped save France became a figure of myth, while remaining a historical person whose story is worth studying on its own terms.