Anatole France, the Nobel-prize winning French author, turns to a historical subject for this two-volume Life of Joan of Arc. Thoroughly researched with a wealth of references, he sought to bring a rationalist viewpoint to the legendary French heroine and to examine and, where necessary, overturn the superstitious additions to her history. He also hoped to counteract the Churchs interpretation of her life, as that institution was, in 1908, well on the way to declaring her a saint. Volume II deals with Joans later military campaigns, her capture, trial and execution and the events that...

Anatole France, the Nobel prize winning French author, turns to a historical subject for this two-volume Life of Joan of Arc. Thoroughly researched with a wealth of references, he sought to bring a rationalist viewpoint to the legendary French heroine and to examine and, where necessary, overturn the superstitious additions to her history. He also hoped to counteract the Church's interpretation of her life, as that institution was, in 1908, well on the way to declaring her a saint. The two original volumes of the Winifred Stephens translation are published together as one for the reader's...