Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who put Charles VII on the throne and spearheaded France’s victory over Britain before being burned by the English as a heretic and witch.
But things are not always as they appear.
Jeanne d’Arc was only five when three angels and saints first came to her. Shrouded by a halo of heavenly light, she believed their claim to be holy. The Archangel Michael and Saint Margaret told her she was the foretold Warrior Maid of Lorraine, fated to free France and put a king upon his throne.
Saint Catherine made her promise to obey their commands and embrace her destiny; the three saints would guide her every step. Jeanne bound herself to these creatures without knowing what she’d done. As she got older, Jeanne grew to mistrust and fear the voices, and they didn’t hesitate to punish her cruelly for disobedience. She quickly learned that their cherished prophecy was more important than the girl expected to make it come true.
Jeanne is only a shepherd’s daughter, not the Warrior Maid of the prophecy, but she is stubborn and rebellious, and finds ways to avoid doing – and being – what these creatures want. Resistance has a terrifying price, but Jeanne is determined to fight for the life she wants.
But when the cost grows too high, Jeanne will risk everything to save her brother, her one true friend and the man she loves.
Not everyone is destined to be a hero. Sometimes you have no choice.
Last September I read Jaime Lee Moyer’s brilliant reimagining of Maid Marian’s life, Brightfall. A year later and her latest novel explores the life of Jeanne d’Arc; from her humble beginnings to her key role in the history of France.
Like Brightfall, this is very much a character driven piece. Jeanne is at the centre of everything, all the action revolves squarely around her. Moyer does an excellent job of defining the shape of the conflict around, and also within Jeanne. On one hand, Jeanne is just a young woman who wants nothing more than to make her own decisions about her life. She just wants the opportunity to find her own path. As a counterpoint to that, the voices that have haunted her for years have far loftier goals. Jeanne’s divine friends seek to define the shape of nations. Throughout the narrative, there is always that constant juxtaposition between the ideas of destiny and choice.
While the internal battle consumes our heroine events around Jeanne also spiral out of control. France and England are in an increasingly bloody war and the French leaders require a symbol to ignite their nation’s patriotism. Can Jeanne act as a lightning rod who can stir the hearts of men?
One of the things I found most interesting and kept coming back to was the idea of the voices in Jeanne’s head. They are the key driver to many of Jeanne’s actions and reactions. It got me thinking about their nature. Are they angels as they claim to be, or harbingers of a more primal supernatural force? There is another argument that they could even be viewed as some by-product of Jeanne’s own damaged psyche. There is a level of ambiguity there that I like. The voice’s existence can be explained in a variety of ways, and each different interpretation will impact how any reader perceives the rest of the book.
There is a genuinely intimate quality to Divine Heretic I very much enjoyed. The idea that a single person shapes the direction of a nation, and the burden that power carries, is examined in a very unique way. I was left with a lot to mull over. Moyer’s novel covers a whole lot of ground; politics, religion, gender inequality are all explored within the bounds of Jeanne’s life.
Divine Heretic is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now.
My musical recommendation to accompany Divine Heretic is the soundtrack to The Messenger by Eric Serra. Trust me, it is entirely appropriate. A French composer scoring a movie about Jeanne d’Arc couldn’t be a better fit.
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