Les Presses Universitaires de France and Fr�meaux & Associ�s offer this biography of Joan of Arc, explained and narrated by Franck Collard, professor of medieval...

Les Presses Universitaires de France and Fr�meaux & Associ�s offer this biography of Joan of Arc, explained and narrated by Franck Collard, professor of medieval history at the University of Paris-Nanterre. Between her birth in Domr�my in 1412 and her death at the stake in 1431, the Maid of Orl�ans undoubtedly disrupted the course of the Hundred Years' War; but even more, it nourishes the imagination and catalyzes passions. Alternately a monarchist icon or "the People's irruption into History" (Michelet), a canonized saint or a victim of religious obscurantism, Joan's heritage is as much elated as it is disputed. Thus, and while Joan of Arc did not live twenty years, she is still, six centuries later, a leading figure in the national narrative that it is fascinating to get to know better.