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Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc – An Inspiring Biography of Faith, Courage, and Victory
The king was going mad . . . So begins Polly Schoyer Brooks's account of one of history's most compelling stories and one of the world's most popular heroines-Joan of Arc. Brooks tells us of a fifteenth-century France ravaged by war, plague, and religious conflict; of a king who suffered fits of madness and his weak son who made a disappointing successor; and of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles by rallying the dispirited French nation with her desire to see the rightful king rule. Little more than a year after her astounding triumphs-uniting the nation and securing the throne for Charles VII with her victory over the English at Orlean-nineteen-year-old Joan was imprisoned on charges of witchcraft and sorcery, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. Polly Schoyer Brooks's detailed narrative unveils the spirited young woman who became a patron saint and continues to inspire courage and faith.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1990
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162 people want to read
About the author
Polly Schoyer Brooks
7 books4 followersPolly Schoyer Brooks lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, where she enjoys her four children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 17, 2022
3.5 stars. Picked this up off a bookshelf at a house we were staying at. It was a good little introduction to Joan of Arc's life. I appreciated that she didn't give a lot of commentary on Joan's visions during the story, just telling it as Joan claimed, but in the closing comments did bring up more of the questions about her life and claims. Her trial was the most fascinating part.
Saving the title in my list of future homeschool possibilities.
Saving the title in my list of future homeschool possibilities.
October 4, 2008
Writing history for young adults is a difficult task - one has to be informative without being boring, and tread the fine line between being condescending and presenting things simply. For the most part, I like the way Polly Schoyer Brooks does it, which involves characterizing the stories enough that they become near to historical fiction. She tells the story of Joan of Arc's life clearly and engagingly, and this book would work for a wide range of ages (which is what young adult books should do generally, but many authors fail at it). A good book to give to a young person just getting interested in history.
May 4, 2023
felt a little more or less based in fact, but it was fine for my project.
May 27, 2009
I suppose the information is good - not an expert but the writing was so bad it was tough to enjoy. I expected something accessible from a book written for kids and it was extremely difficult to get into this book.
The writer has no sense of how to tell a story well, she is constantly interrupting herself and stepping outside the text to comment on the backward ways of 15th century France.
I also thought that for a kid's book some of the content was over their head/ not explained well. Some of the vocabulary would be challenging for kids younger than high school.
Good idea, poorly executed.
The writer has no sense of how to tell a story well, she is constantly interrupting herself and stepping outside the text to comment on the backward ways of 15th century France.
I also thought that for a kid's book some of the content was over their head/ not explained well. Some of the vocabulary would be challenging for kids younger than high school.
Good idea, poorly executed.
June 1, 2012
CATEGORY: NON-FICTION/INFORMATIONAL
Joan of Arc is one of my heroes, and I was really excited to find that this book I ordered about her was nominated as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. However, I didn't love the writing and found it a little dry. However, the author did a great job of presenting the facts in an unbiased manner. Because accounts of Joan of Arc can be biased towards her either for or against her divine revelations, it was nice to have the author be straight-forward about what she said she saw, then giving her opinion in her afterword.
Joan of Arc is one of my heroes, and I was really excited to find that this book I ordered about her was nominated as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. However, I didn't love the writing and found it a little dry. However, the author did a great job of presenting the facts in an unbiased manner. Because accounts of Joan of Arc can be biased towards her either for or against her divine revelations, it was nice to have the author be straight-forward about what she said she saw, then giving her opinion in her afterword.
April 4, 2010
This is one of the more recent study of the life of Joan, and the bibliography is excellent. This is also readable for the average reader and yet not a rehash of every other book on Joan of Arc.
September 23, 2024
The king was going mad . . . So begins Polly Schoyer Brooks's account of one of history's most compelling stories and one of the world's most popular heroines-Joan of Arc. Brooks tells us of a fifteenth-century France ravaged by war, plague, and religious conflict; of a king who suffered fits of madness and his weak son who made a disappointing successor; and of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles by rallying the dispirited French nation with her desire to see the rightful king rule. Little more than a year after her astounding triumphs-uniting the nation and securing the throne for Charles VII with her victory over the English at Orlean-nineteen-year-old Joan was imprisoned on charges of witchcraft and sorcery, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. Polly Schoyer Brooks's detailed narrative unveils the spirited young woman who became a patron saint and continues to inspire courage and faith.
February 5, 2021
The first half was surprisingly hard to follow. It was simple, but perhaps a bit dull. Then all of a sudden, the king was crowned and I didn't really have much of an idea how it happened. The last half was about her trial, and it was better, although not super engaging. Fell very flat for me.
July 29, 2019
This was a very good book, well written & easy to read. I really enjoyed this book.
February 21, 2024
This was a fascinating and well researched book on Joan of Arc. It was engaging and I read it on a long overseas flight.
January 16, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review back when I read them
Polly Schoyer Brooks’s 'Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc' reads like a careful attempt to reclaim a legendary figure from the sediment of centuries, yet it never entirely escapes the sediment itself. Reading it now, I was struck by how earnest the book is—Brooks is clearly devoted to portraying Joan as both human and transcendent, a girl who navigates war, politics, and faith with astonishing courage.
What lingers most is the balance she tries to strike between biography and hagiography. The text never pretends that Joan was flawless, but it is unapologetically admiring, insisting that her audacity and conviction are exemplary.
The prose leans toward the narrative and inspirational, making the historical details accessible without sacrificing the sense of Joan as a figure who acts decisively in a world that doubts her at every turn.
Brooks’s framing emphasizes moral and spiritual insight as much as historical record: the visions, the devotions, and the internal struggles are foregrounded to show a life shaped as much by belief as by circumstance.
Yet reading it today, I became acutely aware of the tension between myth and history. Some simplifications are inevitable—the sweep of events is compressed, the political intricacies lightly sketched—but Brooks never obscures the stakes: Joan’s victories are miraculous, but they are also terrifyingly precarious, contingent on courage, timing, and belief.
What remained with me was the sense that biography can be a form of ethical reading: to follow Joan’s life is to witness the cost of unwavering commitment, the fragility of human audacity, and the endurance of symbolic power long after physical defeat.
'Beyond the Myth' doesn’t pretend to answer all questions about Joan of Arc; instead, it offers an intimate, readable portrait that challenges the reader to consider faith, conviction, and moral clarity in the face of overwhelming opposition.
I finished it both inspired and reflective, aware that legend is not only made in deeds but in how those deeds are remembered, narrated, and reimagined across centuries.
Most recommended.
Polly Schoyer Brooks’s 'Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc' reads like a careful attempt to reclaim a legendary figure from the sediment of centuries, yet it never entirely escapes the sediment itself. Reading it now, I was struck by how earnest the book is—Brooks is clearly devoted to portraying Joan as both human and transcendent, a girl who navigates war, politics, and faith with astonishing courage.
What lingers most is the balance she tries to strike between biography and hagiography. The text never pretends that Joan was flawless, but it is unapologetically admiring, insisting that her audacity and conviction are exemplary.
The prose leans toward the narrative and inspirational, making the historical details accessible without sacrificing the sense of Joan as a figure who acts decisively in a world that doubts her at every turn.
Brooks’s framing emphasizes moral and spiritual insight as much as historical record: the visions, the devotions, and the internal struggles are foregrounded to show a life shaped as much by belief as by circumstance.
Yet reading it today, I became acutely aware of the tension between myth and history. Some simplifications are inevitable—the sweep of events is compressed, the political intricacies lightly sketched—but Brooks never obscures the stakes: Joan’s victories are miraculous, but they are also terrifyingly precarious, contingent on courage, timing, and belief.
What remained with me was the sense that biography can be a form of ethical reading: to follow Joan’s life is to witness the cost of unwavering commitment, the fragility of human audacity, and the endurance of symbolic power long after physical defeat.
'Beyond the Myth' doesn’t pretend to answer all questions about Joan of Arc; instead, it offers an intimate, readable portrait that challenges the reader to consider faith, conviction, and moral clarity in the face of overwhelming opposition.
I finished it both inspired and reflective, aware that legend is not only made in deeds but in how those deeds are remembered, narrated, and reimagined across centuries.
Most recommended.
January 15, 2014
Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc
Author: Polly Schoyer Brooks
Lexile:Unknown
192 pages
I enjoyed reading this book. Once I picked it up it was impossible to put down. One of my favorite part of the book was when they talked about how she would never wear her red peasant dress ever again. Joan grew up in a small village where they mixed Catholicism and old folklore together. Another part I liked was when they talked about how the amount of horses Joan received was staggering.It made laugh a little because she kept getting horses many times throughout her life. My least favorite thing about this book was the end when Joan dies and this part caused me to get a little emotional. I didn't like when they had her on trial and treated her horribly. Even though this is a narrative non-fiction book it didn't feel like one, instead it was like you were there and didn't happen. I would recommend this book to readers who are prepared to have a dictionary next to them to look for unknown terms and like to have the thrill of the 900years wars. There is also some mentioning of bad language that wouldn't have been bad during the medieval days.
Author: Polly Schoyer Brooks
Lexile:Unknown
192 pages
I enjoyed reading this book. Once I picked it up it was impossible to put down. One of my favorite part of the book was when they talked about how she would never wear her red peasant dress ever again. Joan grew up in a small village where they mixed Catholicism and old folklore together. Another part I liked was when they talked about how the amount of horses Joan received was staggering.It made laugh a little because she kept getting horses many times throughout her life. My least favorite thing about this book was the end when Joan dies and this part caused me to get a little emotional. I didn't like when they had her on trial and treated her horribly. Even though this is a narrative non-fiction book it didn't feel like one, instead it was like you were there and didn't happen. I would recommend this book to readers who are prepared to have a dictionary next to them to look for unknown terms and like to have the thrill of the 900years wars. There is also some mentioning of bad language that wouldn't have been bad during the medieval days.
November 24, 2015
Reading this for my English class was kind of okay. It wasn't a book I would read by my free choice, but I found it to be a little enjoyable. Sometimes I'd get lost with all the history. I didn't really like how the author introduced characters, it frustrated me a little. At one point she would be talking about the past and then boom here's a character who changes the plot but the author only gives their name once and refers to them with pronouns for the next two to three pages. Compared to the books I've read in English I feel like this one wasn't as hard! That's the best thing I can say about this book, because it used words in a simple way, it just rambled. Other than that I say it's a decent book.
December 14, 2015
Very well done. What I really enjoyed about Brooks' version of Joan's story is that she doesn't go one way or the other on the validity of Joan's visions. She simply places it in the realm of 'Joan believed they were true, therefore they were important regardless of actual validity', and then continues on with the facts. It kept the story more free of bias than other versions that I have read, and kept some of the facts clearer. I came away with a greater understanding of Joan in the context of her own time and situation, both personal and political, and with a greater appreciation of her contribution to history, not just as a saint but also as a strong, clever woman with a fierce passion for righteousness.
June 20, 2016
This was a read aloud book with my 8 and 10 year old children. I chose to read this book because we all loved Ms. Brooks's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Before reading the book we thought of Joan as just a peasant girl that lead an army. After reading the book, we know Joan was so much more. She was intelligent, confident, valorous, and brave. Her life was difficult and filled with challenges that tested her beliefs and patriotism. We appreciate knowing the motivations behind her actions, and her single aim of restoring King Charles to the throne of France. We all would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Joan and her life.
July 5, 2014
Great, straightforward, pleasant-to-read telling of Joan of Arc's story. It covers her whole (short) life, and explains the intrigues going on in France and behind the scenes at her trial and at court without ever being confusing. It's very factual with the author reminding us of things we just have no way of knowing, like what the real reason for some action was, even if a particular reason seems likely. Of course, there are other times when peoples' motivations are assumed, but it seemed like they would have been commonly accepted as truth even back then.
August 29, 2015
This book is written for the young adults therefore very informative and an easy read. It provides many facts about Joan: including information on the battles she fought, the people she met, her personality, and her trial. Overall, it is very good and provides a lot of information, not only on Joan, but on France and that time period.
overall it's a good biography for the young-adult readers that makes a point of separating historical facts from popular legends.
overall it's a good biography for the young-adult readers that makes a point of separating historical facts from popular legends.
September 14, 2012
I am sure I must have studied Joan of Arc in school but I just don't remember. Even though this book was written for kids I thought it was excellent. It had a lot of information and was simple. And it shows how people can twist the truth and accuse innocent people of witch craft and plotting against a country. I couldnhavennever survived during that time.
February 5, 2017
I don't usually read non-fiction but I love stories about strong women. I didn't realize until I read the back cover that this is a Young Adult book. The writing is simplified but not dumbed down. This book covers Joan's short life and was intriguing from beginning to end. I am so glad I read this!
February 24, 2009
Little did I know this book was written for a 5th grader. I thought I could still read it for some factual background. No dice. It was just written so poorly. And maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but I haven't been a 12 years old in a very long time.
March 4, 2011
Now I know why Joan of Arc is known as a courageous woman.
August 18, 2012
I liked the biography a lot. It reads easily and gives a good context for the events in her life without ever getting bogged down.
January 3, 2014
This is a good concise telling of Joan's story. Good read for middle grade.
December 1, 2013
My goal in reading this was to learn more about Joan of Arc and have an easy reference book on the shelf about her, and this book achieved that for me.
April 4, 2015
I think this is a youth book. Factual of sorts but not detailed enough to tell. None the less I did enjoy this book for what it is
February 18, 2016
I feel this book was intended for a young - say Middle School - audience. Far to sparse and thin for my taste.
April 17, 2017
Concise and well written account of a fascinating figure.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews