Divine Heretic

With this lush, revisionist reimagining of the life of Joan of Arc, Moyer (Brightfall) grants the French heroine a full life of daring and romance. Five-year-old farm girl Jeanne d’Arc sees visions of brightly illuminated beings who claim to be the angels Margaret, Catherine, and Michael and push her to fulfill her destiny by leading an army to oust English forces from France. For years, Jeanne endures harsh punishments for denying their orders, leading her to realize that they are not angels but some more maleficent force. When they induce a much older man to sexually assault her at age 17, they finally succeed in forcing Jeanne to flee her village. She’s shortly ambushed by English forces, but rescued by Ethan, a Moorish earl and member of Dauphin Charles’s knightly retinue. Ethan takes Jeanne to the castle of Lady Maud, Charles’s mistress, where she befriends Maud’s daughter, Sarah. But as word of her prophesied role in the war spreads, it grows ever harder to resist the demands of Margaret, Catherine, and Michael. Moyer takes enough liberties to turn off history buffs, but not enough to make the story feel truly innovative. Still, the richly described world and smooth, plausible plotting will please fans of mild historical fantasy. [em]Agent: Michael Carr, Veritas Literary. (June) [/em]