Warrior, martyr, saint: Joan of Arc has captivated imaginations around the world for centuries. The legendary heroine of a tumultuous episode from the Hundred Years' War, Joan led the French army to triumph over the English at the Siege of Orleans in 1429. Two years later the 19-year-old was captured by the enemy and their French collaborators, charged with heresy, and burned at the stake - the end of her life but the beginning of her enduring fame. This expertly translated and lavishly illustrated biography traces The Maid of Orleans' progress from ordinary peasant girl to seer of mystic visions to saviour of France. Forty full-page colour plates by French artist and illustrator O. D. V. Guillonnet enhance historian Frantz Funck-Brentano's highly readable narrative. Originally published in 1912 as part of a series of young adult biographies of French leaders, this beautiful and inspiring book will enchant readers of all ages. AUTHOR: French librarian, historian, and author Frantz Funck-Brentano (1862 - 1947) wrote extensively about the history of his country, focusing particularly on the Middle Ages as well as the era leading up to the French Revolution of 1789. Octave Denis Victor Guillonnet (1872 - 1967) was a precocious artist, receiving his first medal at the Paris Salon at the age of 15. His paintings are featured at the Paris Museum of Modern Art as well as museums in Luxemburg, Bordeaux, Dijon, and Nantes.
