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The Maid and the Queen
- The Secret History of Joan of Arc
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
Politically astute, ambitious, and beautiful, Yolande of Aragon, queen of Sicily, was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Caught in the complex dynastic battle of the Hundred Years War, Yolande championed the dauphin’s cause against the forces of England and Burgundy, drawing on her savvy, her statecraft, and her intimate network of spies. Even when the dauphin’s own mother betrayed him, Yolande fought to save her son-in-law and his claim to the throne. But the enemy seemed invincible.
Just as French hopes dimmed, an astonishingly courageous young woman named Joan of Arc arrived from the farthest recesses of the kingdom, claiming that she carried a divine message - a message that would change the course of history and ultimately lead to the coronation of Charles VII and the triumph of France.
Now, on the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc, this beautifully written book explores the relationship between these two remarkable women. With irresistibly rich historic detail and stunning accounts of political intrigue, The Maid and the Queen deepens our understanding of this dramatic period in history.
How did an illiterate peasant girl gain access to the future king of France, earn his trust, and eventually lead his forces into battle? Was it only the hand of God that moved Joan of Arc - or was it also Yolande of Aragon?
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tad Davis
- 07-26-12
Compelling but not-so-secret history
Nancy Goldstone has written a compelling history of Joan of Arc and the final days of the Hundred Years War. It suffers slightly from the "Secret" billing: the major secret is that Yolande of Aragon, Charles VII's mother-in-law, was a supporter of Joan (which was not so secret) and may have cleared the way for Joan's first appearance at Charles's court (which is a reasonable inference, made more convincing here by the "coincidental" juxposition of certain letters, meetings and decisions). Secret or not, the book DOES provide a detailed look at the political infighting that characterized the French court, and sets each of the participants, including Joan, in a credible historical context. It provides one of the clearest explanations I've read of the tangled Anglo-French dynastic issues.
Goldstone tries to maintain a balanced perspective. In one instance, I think she goes too far in explaining away Yolande's behavior: in describing the absence of any French support for Joan after her capture, she says, the trial was such a breach of protocol that no one could have expected it (lame); and she notes that Yolande had her hands full with other problems, including the fact that her own son Rene had been captured by Burgundy (understandable but still ungrateful).
Sandra Burr does an excellent job narrating the book. I did find, in the copy I downloaded, one technical glitch. This is likely to be fixed (such issues often are in Audible's downloads), but I'll mention it just in case it isn't. Part of Chapter 17, from the second audio file, has been dropped into the first file, between chapters 4 and 5. The same content is repeated in the right place, so it's a question of being momentarily confused rather than having to mentally unscramble the story.
I will definitely be listening to other books by Goldstone. Among other things, she pulls off the difficult balancing act of demystifying Joan without in any way devaluing her achievement.
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- Anthony
- 09-04-12
No Secret and Little Substance
I cannot say that I found much of interest in this book. The fist half of the text rambles on about Yolande of Aragon. While Yolande has a tale to tell, it is certainly no more and clearly much less intriguing than any other member of the house of Aragon, As to the secret of Joan, there is less to tell. My doctoral work was in French Medieval Literature. I did a great bit with the transcripts of Joan's trial. Goldstone's book references the trial with accuracy but reveals nothing about any "secret."
The true "secrets" for which Goldstone does not address are such things as Joan's ability to ride and control a war horse: no small feat, and Joan's military tactics. Was Joan trained and primed by those who needed her to lead their cause? These are but two of the many "secrets" but the author does not address them.
I cannot say that I found this text either interesting or informative.
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- Teadrinker
- 08-04-13
Good Overall
The "secret history" described here is about how women's actions are traditionally left out of historical narratives so that the big picture appears skewed. It's really a book about the woman behind Jeanne D'Arc, and sometimes the complexities of her family structure are described in so much detail that they move away from Jeanne's tale. Good nevertheless.
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Story
Young Elizabeth Stuart was thrust into a life of wealth and splendor when her godmother, Queen Elizabeth I, died and her father, James I, ascended to the illustrious throne of England. At 16 she was married to a dashing German count far below her rank, with the understanding that James would help her husband achieve the crown of Bohemia. Her father's terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin "the Winter Queen", as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved, and launch a war that would last for 30 years.
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Misnamed but Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 05-16-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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Intriguing
- By Jean on 11-13-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Story
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
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Fascinating but not what I expected
- By Jim on 09-13-16
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
- By: Katherine J. Chen
- Narrated by: Hannah Morrish
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries. In Katherine J. Chen’s hands, the myth and legend of Joan of Arc is transformed into a flesh-and-blood young woman. This meticulously researched novel is a sweeping narrative of her life, from a childhood steeped in both joy and violence, to her meteoric rise to fame at the head of the French army
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Joan’s Story is Our Story
- By Syd Young on 07-20-22
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Coached by Joan of Arc
- Lessons in Virtuous Leadership
- By: Alexandre Havard
- Narrated by: Françoise Nahas, Michael V. Shannon
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Coached by Joan of Arc book is a dialogue between the listener and Joan of Arc, the woman Mark Twain called “easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.” As we explore her virtue-infused life, this astonishingly modern woman takes us by the hand, coaches us, whispers wise advice and lessons in noble leadership in our ear. Far from being anachronistic, her way of life and virtuous example is eternally new, for she follows precepts that are above human weakness.
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Great and inspiring
- By Amazon Customer on 07-06-23
By: Alexandre Havard
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The Kidnap Years
- The Astonishing True History of the Forgotten Kidnapping Epidemic That Shook Depression-Era America
- By: David Stout
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Great Depression was a time of desperation in America - parents struggled to feed their children and unemployment was at a record high. Adding to the lawlessness of the decade, thugs with guns and corrupt law-enforcement officers ran rampant. But amidst this panic, there was one surefire way to make money, one used by criminals and resourceful civilians alike: kidnapping. The Kidnap Years is a thoughtfully reported pause-resister that chronicles the sweep of abductions that afflicted all corners of the country as desperate people were pushed to do the unthinkable.
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Very informative
- By Tyree on 08-12-22
By: David Stout
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In the Shadow of the Empress
- The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 23 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa - one of the most renowned women rulers in history - and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.
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Awful narration!
- By Suanne Laqueur on 09-27-21
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Regarded by many as the most luminous example of Twain's work, this historical novel chronicles the French heroine's life, as purportedly told by her longtime friend--Sieur Louis de Conte.
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Underrated novel, well worth a listen
- By Tad Davis on 07-05-12
By: Mark Twain
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Joan of Arc
- A History
- By: Helen Castor
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Helen Castor tells afresh the gripping story of the peasant girl from Domremy who hears voices from God, leads the French army to victory, is burned at the stake for heresy, and eventually becomes a saint. But unlike the traditional narrative, a story already shaped by the knowledge of what Joan would become and told in hindsight, Castor's Joan of Arc: A History takes us back to 15th century France and tells the story forwards.
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The Maid of Orleans
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-15
By: Helen Castor
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Strategy and the Second World War
- How the War Was Won, and Lost
- By: Jeremy Black
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1941, the Second World War became global, when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and Germany declared war on the United States. In this timely book, which fills a real gap, Black engages with the strategic issues of the time - as they developed chronologically and interacted - and relates these to subsequent debates about the choices made, revealing their continued political resonances.
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Interesting Read
- By David A on 10-31-21
By: Jeremy Black
Related to this topic
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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Intriguing
- By Jean on 11-13-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Four Queens
- The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.
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Interesting, informative
- By Eunice on 12-06-07
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Women of the Cousins' War
- The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother
- By: Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, Michael Jones
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.
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Great book
- By Stacey Wallace on 11-14-11
By: Philippa Gregory, and others
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Lancaster and York
- The Wars of the Roses
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Lancater and York is a riveting account of the Wars of the Roses, from beloved historian Alison Weir. The war between the houses of Lancaster and York was characterised by treachery, deceit, and bloody battles. Alison Weir's lucid and gripping account focuses on the human side of history. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, and his wife Margaret of Anjou, who took up her arms in her husband's cause and battled in a violent man's world.