Book Review
JOAN OF ARC: BY HERSELF AND HER WITNESSES
by RÉGINE PERNOUD

Saint Joan speaks for herself in this great biography! This is one of my favorite biographies about Saint Joan of Arc because it relies so heavily upon the actual quotes of Saint Joan and her contemporaries. Instead of writing a traditional narrative, Régine Pernoud cleverly uses Joan's own words or those of the people around her to give us her history. Tracing Joan's life from beginning to end, Pernoud relies on Joan's quotes as much as she can. She does add just enough narrative to keep the biography coherent but by using Joan's own words, we are able to get a sense of what her personality was like. As the title proclaims, this biography is really written by Saint Joan and her witnesses.