Messenger:
the Legend of Joan of Arc by Tony
Lee, illustrated by Sam Hart (Walker Books)
PB RRP $ 22.95
ISBN 9781406336153
Reviewed by Anastasia
Gonis
Joan of Arc was known as
the Messenger. Her visions began in 1424 when she was thirteen years old. These
visions and the voices of the Saints guided her towards the salvation of France
against the onslaught of the English and their Burgundian allies.
In an outstanding
retelling by Tony Lee through this graphic novel, brilliantly illustrated by
Sam Hart in bold shadowed and bright shades of colour, we relive the legend of
Joan of Arc until her burning at the stake in May 1431.
This is an historical
fiction novel about faith, adventure, treachery, betrayal and manipulation. It
reflects on absolute power and its tragic outcomes, and the position of the
Church during the 1400s.
Joan of Arc, now the
Patron Saint of France, became a martyr after the verdict of 1431 was
overturned by the Church in 1456. Her Beautification took place in 1909, and she
was made a Saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.
Poor Joan! What a horrible way to go. Unfortunately, over the years, I've started to suspect there was a mental illness involved, with those "voices" she heard. I had a student only a couple of years ago who stared out of the classroom window and murmured, "The voices told me I'm the chosen one." Oh, dear.
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