This is a wonderful study in the tradition of J. Huizinga's _The Waning of 
the Middle Ages_ with its scrupulous attention to historical sources and 
finely expressive prose. It is uncontaminated by pop-psych feminism and 
unconcerned with matters not directly relating to its subject. In view of 
the various projections that historians and societies have placed upon 
Joan over the centuries, this does not prevent the author from reflecting 
at engaging length and depth upon all manner of topic, from the political 
sociology of medieval France to the nature of the visionary experience 
(and why Joan is atypical) to many, many symbolisms (sample chapter titles 
include "Ideal Androgyne," "Amazon," "Personification of Virtue" and 
"Saint or Patriot?"); but, most admirably, none of the discussions 
descends to plebeian pandering or loses sight of Joan. The book may be 
read as, but it is more than, a series of essays on the various personae 
thrust upon Joan by her contemporaries, hagiographers, enemies and also 
posterity, not excluding all the artistic expressions that have drawn upon 
her as a theme or centerpiece. This book is, then, a sort of 
historiography of ideas that seeks to understand Joan by examining all the 
layers that centuries of polemic and interpretation have placed upon her 
life and acts, and which ends up telling us (though never lecturing or 
didactic) at least as much about ourselves as about herself, who remains 
one of the most fascinating and sympathetic figures of her time, which is 
also our own.