Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Historical adventure fiction

JOAN

Katherine Chen

A Novel of Joan of Arc

Girl. Warrior. Heretic. Saint?

Joan of Arc has inspired artistic works for nearly six centuries: novels and operas, plays and movies, paintings and video games; there is a seemingly endless appetite for her life story. Here, by dropping the traditional "messenger of God" narrative, Chen imagines a more empowered and personal path for Joan from her small village to the head of the French army. In Chen's hands, the myth and legend of Joan of Arc is transformed into a flesh-and-blood young woman: reckless, steel-willed, and brilliant.

With unforgettably vivid characters, transporting settings, and action-packed storytelling, JOAN is a triumph of historical fiction, a thrilling epic of hard-won survival, political intrigue, great love, and tragic loss, as well as a celebration of one remarkable--and remarkably real--woman who changed history forever.

For JOAN Chen did an extraordinary amount of research - biographies, trial transcripts, books on medieval French cookery and illuminated manuscripts and armor, fiction and plays - and melds this rich background into deeply narrative and character-driven writing.

In addition to MARY B, Katherine J. Chen has been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, and, most recently, in the bestselling historical fiction anthology, STORIES FROM SUFFRAGETTE CITY. She is a graduate of Princeton University and a candidate in the MFA fiction program at Boston University, where she is also a senior teaching fellow.

Available products
Book Published 2022-07-05 by Random House

Comments

"Measured, austere, profoundly physical. I loved it."

"In this compelling novel, Katherine J. Chen presents her vision of Joan of Arc: one of courage, resilience, vulnerability and passion. This is a beautifully written novel that will have you thinking about this iconic woman in new and complex ways."

"JOAN is an epic novel with the mythic power of a fairytale. In clear and powerful prose, Katherine Chen catapults you to 15th-century France, where she reimagines Joan of Arc as a vulnerable and sensitive young woman whose clarity of moral vision and purpose transform her into a warrior. Gripping, resonant, and illuminating."

"An epic take on the life of Joan of Arc, Chen's Joan reimagines the martyr as a secular, fierce, intelligent young warrior and woman, humanized and ripe for our time."

"JOAN is a remarkable reimagining of Joan of Arc as a woman forged by her physical gifts, her acceptance of her differences and the brutality of her times. Chen's Joan is a charismatic leader and brilliant strategist determined to make her mark and fight for her belief in a better world. In removing her from myth and legend and grounding her in a real-world context, Chen shows us the real miracle of Joan's bright legacy. Beautifully written and confidently told, this story of how feminine strength and will can change the world is a powerful one."

"This is not your grandmother's St. Joan. . . . if every generation gets the Joan it deserves, ours could do worse than an ass-kicking, avenging angel fighting simply for the right to fight."

"If you like your summer reading ancient, violent, historic and Frenchand who doesn't?then this imagining of the life of a young Joan of Arc may well hit the spot. A strong cover plug by Hilary Mantel, who knows a thing or two about breathing life into historical figures, makes this one of the season's best bets."

"It is as if the author has crept inside a statue and breathed a soul into it, re-creating Joan of Arc as a woman for our time. She is a genius, but also a child, an icon, but also vulnerable and human. Chen's novel brings home to us the strangeness of Joan's story as well as its appeal, which is timeless, without borders, always fresh."

In this stunning novel, Katherine J. Chen pulls a legendary woman and warrior from the pedestal of historic lore and fixes her squarely at the center of a human story, rich in both heart and soul. Chen's Joan is a living heroine, fighting for those she loves and igniting indelible embers of faith and hope. Chen has gifted readers with a tale that is visceral and piercing I was blown away."

"A good choice for historical fiction readers who are curious for a unique perspective on the saint, one which may serve as an entry point to learn more about her life."

"A stunning, evocative and utterly fascinating novel. Katherine J. Chen has summoned another time and place and brought 15th century France to life in a way that defies even brilliant research. The writing is lyrical and beautiful. The story is profound. This is a more layered and nuanced Joan than you have read before, one who shows us things about women today and our place in our world. Bravo!"

"The Joan of Arc who inhabits Chen's ambitious, thrilling novel is far from the usual portrayal of a pious girl with feverish visions. This Joan is of the earth scrappy and strong, resilient and curious who overcomes a brutal childhood to fight for her country and achieve unimaginable heights. Beautifully written and rich with captivating detail."

"An elegant and engaging work of historical fiction. . . . Making [Joan of Arc] real requires imagination and empathy, and Chen brings both to the task. . . . . Chen's take on the Maid of Orléans feels similar to that of Lauren Groff's version of Marie de France [in Matrix]. Both authors present their protagonists as women who understand that it's their destiny to be powerful, and both authors allow these women to possess beliefs and attitudes that may be anachronistic but feel trueand satisfyingin context."

"Meticulously crafted and richly imagined, Katherine Chen has created nothing short of a masterpiece with Joan. In her new novel, Chen has lifted the heavy armor off of this legendary female saint and warrior, showing us her heart and her humanity. Deeply inspiring and wholly original, this is a novel that inspires one's mind and awakens one soul. I loved every single page."

"We all know the story of teenage Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake by the English, but this electrifying novel fleshes her out as a passionate young woman who defied convention (and then some!). A vivid and very real slice of historical fiction that tears along towards her fateful ending."

"Every era has a need to recast the French maiden warrior in a manner that renews her relevance. In Chen's transporting prose, you will meet a towering new Joan of Arc, one of amazing physical strength, kindness, loyalty, and endurance."

"Revolutionary . . . Chen masterfully transforms the two-dimensional martyr into a multifaceted woman and warrior."

"Meticulously-researched and skillfully told, Joan reimagines a legend many of us thought we knew. Beneath the legend lies the truth of an extraordinary life and a woman whose courage, love of country, and military mind both separated her from and bound her to a land and its people. In Chen's capable hands, Joan becomes fully flesh and achingly real."

"If, like me, you've always thought of Joan of Arc as a pious teenager in a suit of armor, then this clever, tender novel, which is full of humanity will make you see the 'Maid of Orleans' in a new light. Katherine J Chen's Joan is a scrappy, determined and very real heroine who simply roars off the page."

"A powerful story told across a broad canvas, with writing expertly controlled, rich in imagery and characterization. When you look up the term 'historical fiction' in the dictionary it says simply, Read Katherine Chen."

"A smartly written rendition of the life of Joan of Arc . . . Like the passionate protagonist, [this book] is a force to be reckoned with."

UK/BC: Hodder ; Brazil: Planeto do Brazil; Dutch: Meulenhoff Boekerij; Hungarian: IPC Konyvek; Sercian: Laguna; Spanish: Destino/Planeta

"JOAN is a glorious, sweeping novel that brings its heroine to vivid life. Depicting Joan of Arc as a defiant, ambitious, passionate young woman who finds courage and faith in the traumas of her past, this book is beautifully written, richly imagined, poignant and inspiring."

"For readers who love Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy, Joan offers similar pleasures with its immediacy and somewhat contemporary tone. It's an immersive evocation of a character whose name everyone knows, all these centuries later, but whom, perhaps, none of us knows at all."