The Merlin of the Oak Wood is the sequel to
The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well and book two of the Joan of Arc Tapestries, a series that seeks to be to the Maid of Orleans what Mary Stewart's classic Merlin novels are to King Arthur. Ann Chamberlin's entertaining Joan of Arc novels may be read with equal validity as high fantasy, historical fantasy, or secret history. Pagan readers will enjoy the series, but devout Christians may be disturbed by the way it explicitly connects the saint to Celtic paganism.
Opening in the Year of Grace 1425, The Merlin of the Oak Wood follows Jehannette d'Arc through childhood and young womanhood to her acceptance of the mysterious voices that summon her to fight for beleaguered France. The novel also continues the stories of the two main characters of the previous book: Jean Le Drapier, now the powerful Merlin of St. Gilles' Well, and Gilles de Rais, the valiant and troubled French nobleman who fights the English invaders, and who will one day become the murderous Bluebeard. The second book in a series, The Merlin of the Oak Wood is obviously a bridging work, with the inevitable lack of a definitive conclusion, but it ably continues the story of Jeanne d'Arc and her allies-to-be.
A two-time winner of Affaire de Coeur's Best Foreign Historical Award, Ann Chamberlin has also written Sofia, The Sultan's Daughter (winner of the 1998 Critic's Choice Award for Overall Historical), The Reign of the Favored Women, Tamar, and Leaving Eden. --Cynthia Ward
