An Army of Angels: A Novel of Joan of Arc

by Pamela Marcantel

Book Overview

This story of a peasant girl named Jhanette, who at the age of thirteen is visited by a saint and told she will be the savior of France, paints a portrait of both Joan of Arc and the medieval Europe... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031215030X
• ISBN13: 9780312150303
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 578 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Emotionally Riveting

I read two to three books a week and it is rare for me to find a book as brutally honest as this one. The pull of the characters were so subtle that I had no idea how emotionally involved I was until near the end of the book. I have bought An Army of Angels twice because it has worn out from how many people I insist read it. Definitely worth the time and emotional involvement.

AN ADMIRABLE TELLING OF A LEGENDARY TRAGEDY

It's hard to craft a good story about Joan of Arc. So much of the story does not make sense. So many of the documented details do not hang together. All you have to do is view the first 20 minutes of the new Luc Besson film, THE MESSENGER, to see how painfully a telling of this tale is usually executed. The true story of Jehanne the Maid will likely forever be masked in mystery, a mystery that some have attributed to saintliness, others to madness and still others to the devious dealings of the many infamous royal and ecclesiastical opportunists of the Dark Ages.What Pamela Marcantel has managed to do with AN ARMY OF ANGELS, is to craft a creative and extraordinarily well-researched retelling of this classic mystery play without lapsing into the usual cliches or delusions surrounding the life of this heroic and controverial 15th Century teenager. She has approached a difficult story with finesse and grace. Mostly, while I found Marcantel's conceptualizations of the messages received via Jehanne's mysterious voices to be somewhat unbelievable, I admired Marcantel's courage to attack that issue head-on -- most authors have simply avoided any speculation whatsoever and have made no attempt to explain directly how Jehanne arrived at her convictions.As stories of Joan of Arc go, AN ARMY OF ANGELS is currently number one on my recommendation list.

Incredibly captivating!

I could not put this book down. The way she followed her faith really touched my heart. I thought it might be a boring book for me, being a 14 year old, but I found that the adventure and mystery of her life left me unable to put the book down. I found it quite amazing that a girl my age could have gone through that and still stood by her faith. The book should be read by people able to follow facts and a plot at the same time.

As historical novels go, one of the most believable and best

I enjoy historical novels a great deal, because they remove the "dryness" from history as it's usually written, dry, flat and boring. However, I also have reservations about most historical novels because the authors tend to embellish their recount of events almost to a point beyond credibility. This very readable, page-turning account of "Jehanne the Maid" is neither dry, flat, boring or beyond belief. Ms. Marcantel has the uncanny ability to bring to life an era and events which we cannot conceive, and have been insulated from, unless you survived the holocaust or were intimately involved with the wars of this century. This book has obviously been well-researched. Where there are questions as to lapses in time, the author tells you how she has endeavored to compensate, never losing the "atmosphere" of the times. No one can really explain to anyone's satisfaction how saints and angels appear to any particular person, but I believe Ms. Marcantel has done a most credible work in recounting the experiences of Jehanne the Maid, and has done justice to the history of the times.

An excellent, moving portrayal and an engaging presentation.

"Army of Angels" is excellent and engaging. I have always had trouble reading history, but Marcantel makes it very digestible, even delicious! Her writing is so realistic that I had to keep reminding myself I was reading a novelization, not "FACTS" written in stone. I couldn't put it down. To anyone intimidated by the length of the book, I say don't be. It is so engaging, you'll fly through it before you realize.Other readers have had issues believing the rape scene. Joan's abuses in prison have been discussed by many historians, as well as Marcantel. Anyone who thinks a woman in prison in those days -- especially one who claimed to talk to angels -- would not have been raped or otherwise sexually assaulted is sadly deluded. If it can happen today in our prisons, why not then in theirs? Marcantel's portrayal is very believable and tastefully written.I highly recommend this book to anyone having an interest in Joan of Arc. It is obvious Marcantel based her writing in historical facts and research.