Young Joan: A Novel Based on the Life of Saint Joan of Arc - Hardcover

Dana, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060214228 ISBN 13: 9780060214227

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1991

Synopsis

A fictionalized portrait of the young Joan of Arc follows the ordinary farm girl as she struggles to understand her divine destiny

About this title

About the Author:

Barbara Dana is the author of several previous novels for children and young adults, including Zucchini and Necessary Parties, which was made into a sucessful television drama.She lives with her husband, actor-director-author Alan Arkin, in New York City.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A beautifully crafted fictional portrait of Joan of Arc, from her first visions until she leaves on her historic mission. Joan's own revealing narrative voice is the center of interest here: wholly trusting in God's goodness and the wisdom of her guiding saints; loving the world's beauty and treasuring other creatures, especially the animals on her father's farm; concerned for family, friends--and enemies; quiet, obedient, but eloquently persuasive; genuine in her humility, regarding any good she does as God's. Joan recounts the temporal and spiritual events that prepare her, by almost imperceptible degrees, for her role. Though she's not considered remarkable in her village, she's already recognized as having a gift for healing; and though family and neighbors create a loving, supportive community, the threat of violence from marauding Burgundians is unremitting. Adopting a spare style whose simplicity effectively suggests Joan's intelligence and naivet‚, Dana follows the growth of Joan's governing idea through poignantly poetic exchanges with her voices. There is a great deal of repetition, but it allows the reader's perception to deepen along with Joan's own sense of her purpose. An epilogue, still in Joan's voice (from beyond the fire) completes the story; though the novel seems carefully researched, a note differentiating fact from fiction would have been welcome. A convincing, unforgettable--and nondoctrinaire-- re-creation. (Fiction. 11+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0060214228
• ISBN 13: 9780060214227
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 371