Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc

Praise

“The only miracles enacted in these pages are the ones the writer herself pulls off: In Joan, Ms. Chen retrieves the worn fragments of Joan of Arc’s story and assembles them into a narrative that’s eerie, austere and just this side of plausible. To do so is no small feat.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Wall Street Journal

“Chen’s Joan has a scrappy, resilient childhood filled with both abuse and love. She grows up learning to fight, but always for justice on behalf of the people and country she loves.”—The Washington Post

“This Joan is no pious maiden but a strong soldier and smart military strategist and logistician; and yes, she really did pull an arrow out of her own neck.”—Margaret Atwood (on Twitter)

“An epic take on the life of Joan of Arc, Chen’s Joan reimagines the martyr as a secular, fierce, intelligent young warrior and woman, humanized and ripe for our time.”—Parade

“We all know the story of teenage Joan of Arc, but this electrifying novel fleshes her out as a passionate young woman who defied convention (and then some!). A vivid and very real slice of historical fiction that tears along towards her fateful ending.” —Good Housekeeping (UK)

“[A]n immersive evocation of a character whose name everyone knows, all these centuries later, but whom, perhaps, none of us knows at all.”—BookPage

“Vivid, visceral and boldly immediate storytelling.”—The Telegraph (UK)

“Chen’s brilliantly imagined novel breathes new life into this famous tale. Her Joan is a riotous tomboy, a hot-headed adolescent and a decidedly unsaintly soldier – and is all the more inspiring for it. A triumph of historical fiction.”—Mail on Sunday (UK)

“Revolutionary . . . Chen masterfully transforms the two-dimensional martyr into a multifaceted woman and warrior.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A brilliant exploration of how an otherworldly peasant girl became a leader of violent men and a national icon.”—The Guardian (UK)

“A glorious, sweeping novel . . . Richly imagined, poignant and inspiring.”—Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne

“Beautifully written and confidently told, this is a story of how feminine strength and will can change the world.”—Megan Chance, bestselling author of A Splendid Ruin

“With Joan, Chen has created nothing short of a masterpiece, a wholly original novel that inspires one’s mind and awakens one’s soul.”—Alyson Richman, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife

“Visceral and piercing—I was blown away.”—Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post

“This Joan is of the earth—scrappy and strong, resilient and curious. . . . An ambitious, thrilling novel, rich with captivating detail.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace