Kathryn Harrison on the art and myth of 'Joan of Arc'

'Joan of Arc'
'Joan of Arc' by Kathryn Harrison
Book cover courtesy of publisher

Kathryn Harrison's new biography of Joan of Arc is a change for a writer known for novels and memoirs.

The challenge of writing about Joan of Arc is to find something new to say about the French teenager who led an army to victory and then, captured by enemies, died on the stake. Harrison, instead of pursuing just the true story of the Maid of Orleans, examines the art and myths that have spring up around the real girl.

From the Star Tribune review:

Harrison retells the three action-packed years of Joan's rise and fall, reminding us that France in 1420 was not today's tourist magnet, but a bloody land carved up by the invading English and the conniving duke of Burgundy. It was a place where village girls rarely left home, did not consort with kings and most definitely did not dress like men.

Most people know the outline of Joan's story and remember that it ends badly for her, at a stake in the marketplace at Rouen. Harrison's book helps us see how it came to that. It goes beyond that to show how her true story morphed with each retelling through the centuries, by such luminaries as Shakespeare, Mark Twain and Cecil B. DeMille. In Harrison's telling, Joan loses her mythic accessories, but the unadorned truth is more than enough.

Harrison joins The Daily Circuit to discuss her new book.

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