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joan of arc: a history cd review
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cd review

Anne Flosnik narrates. She's one of the UK leading voiceover artists so you won't be disappointed.

I listened to this as a tie-in to Castor's BBC documentary of Joan of Arc which I found illuminating. It may sound superficial at first glance but Castor is right to say that no other figure from the history of the Middle Ages has generated so many pop songs. Think about it a bit and you realise just what a grip she has held on generation upon generation. Indeed the poets, the writers, the film directors and the historians have used her as the Muse until the person has become but a light vessel for all of them to channel their views.

The real Joan of Arc is so much more fascinating than that. How did a 17 year old peasant girl become the Maid of Orleans? What did the Voices say? How did she know that the sword would be found there? Did she say those words in her last meeting with Pierre Cauchon? Castor tries to answer these questions and others.

It is fascinating that so much survives from her trial because it was all recorded. Castor uses it skillfully to bring the story alive.

We all have our own personal moments of astonishment when we look at the life of Joan of Arc. Mine is the siege of Orleans and the four days she waited for her army to come.

For the docu they got the music horribly wrong. They should have used the classic OMD track with a choral choir. I've heard it before and it evokes Joan of Arc in a way no other piece of music can come close to,

And never, never, use the face of another actress for Joan of Arc when you have Renée Jeanne Falconetti for time ever after. Dreyer's iconic and classic close ups in Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) should always be the only reference point for her face in your mind's eye.

Using another actress? Now that's almost an act of heresy.

The cover and its typography are the best of the various releases. Far better colouring than the books.

Inside though, it's page upon page of bedazzlement and wonder.

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Book Available Elsewhere: amazon.co.uk (direct link)