"Conversations with Joan of Arc", by Tony Sullivan

This is a very interesting and especially moving account of the last days of “La Pucelle d`orléans”, France’s folk heroine and Roman Catholic saint who was tried for heresy by the tribunal led by Bishop Pierre Cauchon and subsequently burned at the stake at the age of 19. 

This fiction concentrates on her imprisonment in Rouen where she was visited in numerous occasions by Nicolas Loiseleur, chanoine de Chartres and of Rouen. This story is as much about him as it is about the heroine. The legend says that he was so upset after her execution that his actions brought him unwanted attention from the English. 

The story is very passionate and is written in a resonant tone from a 3rd person perspective. I could clearly imagine that behind all this scorn was a woman who stubbornly refused to tell the people what they wanted to hear. It must have been a nightmare and the author has expertly described how this poor woman was tormented, taunted and condemned. I will not expand on her exploits in the midst of the conversations some are highlighted. IMO this fiction is a fascinating way to relate a vision of what could have transpired between a prisoner and her confidant……Even with the knowledge of its ending, this story is nevertheless captivating and revisiting this trouble part of history in this manner was particularly refreshing. Well-done Mr. Sullivan I will definitely read more of your work.