The most recommended Joan of Arc books

Who picked these books? Meet our 14 experts.

14 authors created a book list connected to Joan of Arc, and here are their favorite Joan of Arc books.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

What type of Joan of Arc book?

Loading...

Book cover of Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

Megan E. Freeman Author Of Alone

From my list on to introduce readers to novels in verse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a poet and author living and writing in Northern Colorado. I love reading (and writing) novels in verse because they invite the reader into an active relationship with the author-poet. The story is co-created through mutual trust and imagination: the reader has to trust the author to provide enough language to reveal the narrative, and the author has to trust the reader to fill in details left by the white space on the page. Through this mutual effort and creative collaboration, dazzling stories emerge.

Megan's book list on to introduce readers to novels in verse

Megan E. Freeman Why did Megan love this book?

In Voices, David Elliott uses formal verse to explore the last hours that Joan of Arc lived. Told from multiple points of view, including the voice of the flame that will burn Joan at the stake, Elliott chooses specific poetic forms to reflect fundamental truths about the different characters. All forms of verse in the book were popular during Joan’s actual lifetime, and Elliott provides an interesting author’s note at the back of the book. Aside from being a poetic tour de force, Voices is a true page-turner, and readers will root for Joan to triumph over her enemies, even as they dread the inevitable outcome.

By David Elliott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Voices as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Told through medieval poetic forms and in the voices of the people and objects in Joan of Arc's life, (including her family and even the trees, clothes, cows, and candles of her childhood), Voices offers an unforgettable perspective on an extraordinary young woman. Along the way it explores timely issues such as gender, misogyny, and the peril of speaking truth to power. Before Joan of Arc became a saint, she was a girl inspired. It is that girl we come to know in Voices.


Book cover of The Traveler's Summit: The Remarkable Sequel to The Traveler’s Gift

Marc Renson Author Of Is The Coffee Fresh? Confessions of Drama, Dysfunction and Daily Life at a Downtown Coffeehouse

From my list on to let go and let God.

Why am I passionate about this?

More than anything, I consider myself an artist. I rely on intuition or “gut feelings” to guide me. The laws of the universe have proven to me that thoughts do become things. I often say, think good thoughts. The books I’m recommending, are all about following your instincts and releasing any outcome to find the treasures in your life. I believe in the law of attraction. I love food, music, and Hollywood and have invited it all into my restaurant. I’m a chef with a culinary arts degree, an award-winning author and chef to the stars. Feeding many celebrities from Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling to The Cake Boss and Alton Brown. Dreams do come true!

Marc's book list on to let go and let God

Marc Renson Why did Marc love this book?

After making a fortune then losing it all, David Ponder meets Archangel Gabriel and teaches David the laws of the universe. Years later, David’s wife passes away and Archangel Gabriel reappears and informs David that he is the only one who can save all of humanity. But David must use the help of fellow travelers from the past. Welcome to the minds of great men and women who have shaped history. Churchill, Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and many more who help David and assist him on his quest to save all humanity. 

A great read, full of hope, courage, and vision.

By Andy Andrews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Traveler's Summit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Traveler's Summit explores the historically proven principles that have guided our greatest leaders for centuries, and how we might restore these principles in our own lives...before it's too late.

Dave Ponder is back, and this time, the fate of civilization may be in his hands.

Centuries of greed, pride, and hate have sent humankind hurtling toward disaster, far from our original purpose. There is only one solution that can reset the compass and right the ship, and that answer is only two words.

With time running out, it's up to David Ponder and a cast of history's best and…


Book cover of Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage

Ann Birch Author Of A Daughter Rebels

From my list on brave women who dared to challenge the norms.

Why am I passionate about this?

For a number of years, I was a historical interpreter at two of Toronto’s oldest and finest houses. While looking at the furniture, paintings, and below-stairs bells and open-hearth cooking in these upper-class mansions, I became immersed in the lives of the people who once lived in these places. I have always been interested in history, and I have a post-graduate degree in Canadian literature, but my schooling in history seemed confined to the Tudor period and Greek and Roman times. Working in Toronto’s fine homes led me to a deep understanding of the fascinating history we have right here on our doorstep!

Ann's book list on brave women who dared to challenge the norms

Ann Birch Why did Ann love this book?

I grabbed this book from a friend when I visited her cottage this summer. Recently published, it’s a stunning collection of short facts and spectacular portraits of 158 women who changed our world for the better. Most of these women’s contributions to our knowledge of the world have been ignored or forgotten. I was particularly interested in the brief description of Mary Anning who was living in Devon, England at the same time as Anne Powell was residing here in Toronto. Anning’s amazing discoveries about fossils from centuries ago gave a new understanding of the history of our planet.

By Anita Kunz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Original Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the internationally acclaimed artist, a stunning collection of portraits of ground-breaking women—Joan of Arc, Josephine Baker, Greta Thunberg, Misty Copeland, and many more history-making women whose names have been forgotten and are finally being brought to light. With a Foreword by Roxane Gay

“This book, as a whole, offers the reader possibility and promise … You will be introduced to many of these women for the first time, because history is rarely kind to women until it is forced to be. You will learn about artists and activists, rulers and rebels.” —Roxane Gay, from the Foreword

Original Sisters was…


Book cover of Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism

Katie Pickles Author Of Heroines in History: A Thousand Faces

From my list on heroines in history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been interested in exploring the characteristics and meaning of heroines in history since I met two fellow travelers in Nova Scotia in 1990 who introduced me to the work of Joseph Campbell and his The Hero with a Thousand Faces. As a history professor I am interested in women’s changing place in society and the history of heroines is an excellent way to explore this. I am passionate about moving beyond individual, celebratory stories to instead explore themes for a dynamic modern archetype of a heroine across time and cultures. I like to imagine a time when all humans can be heroes without the feminine suffix.

Katie's book list on heroines in history

Katie Pickles Why did Katie love this book?

This superbly researched book breaks new ground about the relationship between image and reality for heroines in history.

Warner manages to both bring Joan of Arc alive as an historical actor, and also show how her image has been invented and reinvented through history. Warner taught me that when it comes to heroines, there is often an important blurred relationship between fact and fiction. Importantly, gender and sexuality are also at the heart of Warner’s interpretations.

Warner captures the story of a truly amazing heroine and also reveals Joan’s incredible significance. 

By Marina Warner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Joan of Arc as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Joan has a unique role in Western imagination - she is one of the few true female heroes. Marina Warner uses her superb historical and literary skills to move beyond conventional biography and to capture the essence of "Joan of Arc", both as she lived in her own time and as she has 'grown' in the human imagination over the five centuries since her death. She has examined the court documents from Joan of Arc's 1431 Inquisition trial for heresy and woven the facts together with an analysis of the histories, biographies, plays, and paintings and sculptures that have appeared…


Book cover of The Pariah

J.D.L. Rosell Author Of The Last Ranger: Ranger of the Titan Wilds

From J.D.L.'s 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Hiker Reader Gamer Cat dad

J.D.L.'s 3 favorite reads in 2023

J.D.L. Rosell Why did J.D.L. love this book?

The Pariah features a protagonist, Alwyn Scribe, with such a distinct voice and motivations you cannot help being captivated by him. Ryan is also incredibly gifted at making the medieval fantasy setting feel grounded and real.

The plot is twisty, taking Alwyn through transformations that are incredible, yet believable every step of the way. And when we are swept into the greater plot and war, its version of the Joan of Arc story continues to captivate and awe.

By Anthony Ryan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Pariah as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A gritty, heart-pounding tale of betrayal and bloody vengeance' John Gwynne

When the task is a killing, be quick and make sure of it.

Torment is an indulgence.

Save it for only the most deserving.

Born in the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the comradeship of his fellow thieves. Yet an act of betrayal sets him on a new path of blood and vengeance, which leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army.

Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine…


Book cover of Shogun

Lev Raphael Author Of Rosedale In Love

From Lev's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Lev's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Lev Raphael Why did Lev love this book?

This is a new hardcover edition tied to the miniseries and it's beautifully produced, a pleasure to hold and touch--truly splendid as an object in its own right. The author's sense of place and time and the insight into the Japanese characters' minds and lives was hypnotic.

By James Clavell,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Shogun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Alternate Cover for 0440178002A bold English adventurer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life. All brought together in an extraordinary saga aflame with passion, conflict, ambition, and the struggle for power.Here is the world-famous novel of Japan that is the earliest book in James Clavell’s masterly Asian saga. Set in the year 1600, it tells the story of a bold English pilot whose ship was blown ashore in Japan, where he encountered two people who were to change his a warlord with his own quest for power, and a beautiful interpreter torn between two…


Book cover of Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary

Lisa M. Bitel Author Of Our Lady of the Rock: Vision and Pilgrimage in the Mojave Desert

From my list on illuminating books about visions of the Virgin Mary.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m fascinated by the religious supernatural, especially visions and apparitions. I once saw Mother Teresa levitate – believe me? How do I prove it to you? Religious apparitions have occurred across faith traditions and global regions to all sorts of people. One of the most frequently reported apparitions in history is of the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people have claimed personal visits from the Blessed Mother; since 1830, their numbers have rocketed in America. Only some Marian visions become famous, while others are forgotten. These five enlightening books suggest how and why the Mother of God chooses to be seen, how visionaries explain what they see, and why other people believe.

Lisa's book list on illuminating books about visions of the Virgin Mary

Lisa M. Bitel Why did Lisa love this book?

I love Warner’s work because her books address big questions about belief and meaning, such as those behind beloved fairy tales or the heroic history of Joan of Arc. 

In this book, Warner traces shifting legends about the Virgin Mary buried in theological debates, literature, and art over 2000 years of Christianity. Warner reminded me that, although the Gospels seem full of Marys and Mariams, Scripture offers little information about the mother of Christ, which has allowed generations of believers the freedom to envision her as they saw fit. 

I came away from the book wondering why the Virgin’s appearance and wardrobe have not changed much over 2000 years. She is always a beautiful, usually young woman wearing droopy robes and a veil, sometimes a crown or halo, and often carrying a book or a baby. Maybe it’s so the faithful can recognize her when she descends in a cloud…

By Marina Warner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Alone of All Her Sex as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shows how the figure of Mary has shaped and been shaped by changing social and historical circumstances and why for all their beauty and power,the legends of Mary have condemned real women to perpetual inferiority.


Book cover of Saint Joan

Paul Camster Author Of Apocalypse, Third Edition

From my list on females overcome evil opponents to save the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

As Rebecca Roberts in Apocalypse was an ancestor whose achievements have been largely ignored-maybe because of gender-it seemed to be time to redress the balance. A female author may have done the job better, but none stepped forward at the time and Hollywood screenwriter K.Lewis was keen to write a screenplay, requiring a concept screenplay outline as a guide. It was that which later became the 1st Edition of Apocalypse.

Paul's book list on females overcome evil opponents to save the world

Paul Camster Why did Paul love this book?

Although written as a play, it has a foreword detailing its subject—the life of Joan of Arc. Joan was the inspiration and much-admired heroine of Rebecca Roberts in my own book. Based closely on the Inquisition records, it has very moving moments, whether read or performed as a play.

By Bernard Shaw,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Saint Joan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'What other judgment can I judge by but my own?' Charting the meteoric rise and fall of Joan of Arc and her mission to drive the English from France, Shaw's Saint Joan draws directly on the medieval records to cut through the sentiment that characterized previous literary treatments of her story. A powerful example of a new kind of history play, its staging of dissent and social constraint, personal responsibility and female assertion, as well as fervent adherence to a cause, gave it a powerful modernity in its own day and continuing resonance in ours. Acclaimed internationally, this instant modern…


Book cover of Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Marsha P. Johnson and Beyond

Simon Joyce Author Of LGBT Victorians: Sexuality and Gender in the Nineteenth-Century Archives

From my list on showing that trans people have always existed.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an academic researcher interested in this topic but also one of the people who gets demonized in conservative media: the parent of a transgender child. I want my daughter to know that similar people have existed in history and that lawmakers are wrong to claim that we’re in a scary new world when we advocate for respect and the rights of trans people. While doing that advocacy work, I’m alarmed by positions within the LGBTQI+ movement echoing right-wing ones, including what’s known as “gender critical feminism.” My book argues a positive case for coalition in the face of pressures to fracture along distinct lines of sexuality and gender identity. 

Simon's book list on showing that trans people have always existed

Simon Joyce Why did Simon love this book?

This is a great place to begin thinking about trans history. Feinberg, who died in 2014, crisscrossed the line between butch lesbian and trans man and was not particular about what pronouns they preferred. In that spirit of inclusiveness, some readers might find her book outdated or too loose in some of the people it includes—any book that ranges from Joan of Arc to NBA star Rodman is covering a lot of ground, but what’s less visible from that subtitle is the work Feinberg has done in crosscultural, anthropological, and comparative mythology studies. What results is a daring and provocative re-reading of world history that puts gender nonconformity at the center, and a stirring call to activism and solidarity that is if anything more needed since its original publication.

By Leslie Feinberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Transgender Warriors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This groundbreaking book far ahead of its time when first published in 1996 and still galvanizing today interweaves history, memoir, and gender studies to show that transgender people, far from being a modern phenomenon, have always existed and have exerted their influence throughout history. Leslie Feinberg hirself a lifelong transgender revolutionary reveals the origin of the check one box only gender system and shows how zie found empowerment in the lives of transgender warriors around the world, from the Two Spirits of the Americas to the many genders of India, from the trans shamans of East Asia to the gender-bending…


Book cover of Joan of Arc: A Military Leader

Sarah Percy Author Of Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat

From my list on women in combat.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an academic, writer, and broadcaster, and I’ve always been fascinated by the big questions of who fights wars and why. A puzzle caught my eye: the only profession (short of maybe priest) where women were actively banned in the 1980s and as late as the 2010s, was combat. How could Western democracies ban women from an entire profession? This was especially odd, given that the plentiful historical evidence that women were perfectly capable of combat. So I wrote a book explaining how women in combat fit into the broader sweep of military history, and how the suppression and dismissal of their stories has had a profound social and cultural impact. 

Sarah's book list on women in combat

Sarah Percy Why did Sarah love this book?

We all think we know the story of Joan of Arc – she’s possibly one of the world’s most famous women. But what Kelly Devries’ book does is to put Joan’s military accomplishments into the spotlight.

By focusing on Joan as a military leader, the book reminds us that women’s military experience was often dismissed. In Joan’s case, the only explanation people had for the military capacity of a teenage girl was magic. The British thought Joan was a witch, the French that she was divinely inspired – but no one thought that she may just have been a good fighter and a good leader.

Devries unpacks some of the more prosaic explanations behind Joan’s military success, explanations that indicate that Joan (like other women) may have had military talents rather than magical ones. 

By Kelly DeVries,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Joan of Arc as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Where previous works have concentrated on the religious and feminist aspects of Joan's career, this title addresses the vital issue of what it was that made her the heroine she became. Why did the soldiers of France follow a woman into battle when no troops of the Hundred Years War had done so before, and how was she able to win? The English called her whore, and believed her to be possessed, but her own troops trusted her without any proof of her abilities. And she did have very great abilities - in particular her remarkable prowess as a military…