Joan, The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint, is an excellent biography of Joan of Arc. The author, Donald Spoto, has done an yeoman’s job of poring through the historical records in order to bring us an accurate accounting of the events that characterized her magnificent life.

Spoto, although a secular author, does not discount the supernatural aspects of Joan’s experiences. He goes into a great deal of detail in analyzing all the possibilities regarding the voices that were instructing her.

Joan of Arc is one of the most amazing saints in the history of the Church. This 17 year old girl led men into battle, saved the French from the English, and convinced the weak and vacillating Charles VII to proceed to Reims in order to be coronated. After all this, she is abandoned and betrayed by her king and the evil Bishop Cauchon for a political agenda.

Joan, of course, triumphed in the end. Her Inquisition trial was finally exposed as a sham. Her tormentors were disgraced. Joan of Arc became a saint.