The Life of Joan of Arc - Volume I (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press) Paperback – Illustrated, November 30, 2007

After reading volume I and part way into volume II, I have to say that this is a splendid work. France seems to paint an accurate picture of Joan, both as a religious and historical figure, which is no small enterprise when you consider that the myths about her life spread throughout France even within her own lifetime, making a historian's task nearly impossible. Much of the romance is tempered, unlike so many other similar works, yet Joan still emerges as an exemplary human being, with a character as near to perfection as anyone could achieve, whether one believes in Christian dogma or not. The work is amply footnoted from primary sources. The original work, without comments from the editor in this printed edition, is in the public domain and available as a free ebook from the Gutenberg Project. Both volumes are included in a single file with practically no detectable typographic errors and with the footnotes moved into the text where they appear at every few pages. The translator for the English edition did a wonderful job.