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Catlady · 09-08-2022, 12:33 PM

I've finished my Joan of Arc binge, which started with Katherine J. Chen's novel Joan and continued with Helen Castor's Joan of Arc: A History, as mentioned upthread.

These were followed by

Kimberly Cutter's novel The Maid, narrated by Rosalyn Landor. I didn't like this much; the way the voices are depicted is annoying.
Mark Twain's novel The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, narrated by Michael Anthony. I pretty much hated this one for being far too worshipful and noncritical, not to mention far too long.
Kathryn Harrison's Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured, narrated by Cassandra Campbell. I think I liked this one the best, as it dealt with a lot of the symbolism of Joan's story and parallels to the Christ story, as well as how the story has been treated in popular culture.
Donald Spoto's Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint, narrated by Dick Hill. I couldn't resist seeing how someone known for Hollywood bios would deal with Joan; it's a fairly good read.

I also listened to two children's books about Joan from LibriVox (The Story of Joan of Arc by Andrew Lang and A Child's Life of St. Joan of Arc by Mary E. Mannix). These, as expected, were very respectful and stuck to the basics.

Harrison's book made me interested in plays and films about Joan, so I listened to an audiobook version of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan starring Amy Irving, from Hollywood Theater of the Ear, and watched a TV adaptation of Jean Anouilh's The Lark starring Julie Harris. I also watched four feature-length films about Joan (Ingrid Bergman's Joan of Arc [1948, marvelous performance, especially during the trial and execution], Leelee Sobieski's Joan of Arc [1999, terrific cast; I liked this one best], Milla Jovovich's The Messenger [1999, this Joan seemed demented], and Maria Falconetti's The Passion of Joan of Arc [silent, 1928, extreme closeup after extreme closeup after extreme closeup]), and even found a You Are There TV episode about Joan's trial and execution (Walter Cronkite!).

Unless I can find Jean Seberg's Saint Joan (1957), I am officially DONE with Joan of Arc for a good long time.

09-08-2022, 12:33 PM	#3307
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,421 Karma: 52734361 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I've finished my Joan of Arc binge, which started with Katherine J. Chen's novel Joan and continued with Helen Castor's Joan of Arc: A History, as mentioned upthread. These were followed by Kimberly Cutter's novel The Maid, narrated by Rosalyn Landor. I didn't like this much; the way the voices are depicted is annoying. Mark Twain's novel The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, narrated by Michael Anthony. I pretty much hated this one for being far too worshipful and noncritical, not to mention far too long. Kathryn Harrison's Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured, narrated by Cassandra Campbell. I think I liked this one the best, as it dealt with a lot of the symbolism of Joan's story and parallels to the Christ story, as well as how the story has been treated in popular culture. Donald Spoto's Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint, narrated by Dick Hill. I couldn't resist seeing how someone known for Hollywood bios would deal with Joan; it's a fairly good read. I also listened to two children's books about Joan from LibriVox (The Story of Joan of Arc by Andrew Lang and A Child's Life of St. Joan of Arc by Mary E. Mannix). These, as expected, were very respectful and stuck to the basics. Harrison's book made me interested in plays and films about Joan, so I listened to an audiobook version of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan starring Amy Irving, from Hollywood Theater of the Ear, and watched a TV adaptation of Jean Anouilh's The Lark starring Julie Harris. I also watched four feature-length films about Joan (Ingrid Bergman's Joan of Arc [1948, marvelous performance, especially during the trial and execution], Leelee Sobieski's Joan of Arc [1999, terrific cast; I liked this one best], Milla Jovovich's The Messenger [1999, this Joan seemed demented], and Maria Falconetti's The Passion of Joan of Arc [silent, 1928, extreme closeup after extreme closeup after extreme closeup]), and even found a You Are There TV episode about Joan's trial and execution (Walter Cronkite!). Unless I can find Jean Seberg's Saint Joan (1957), I am officially DONE with Joan of Arc for a good long time.