Divine Heretic by Jaime Lee Moyer

I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Jo Fletcher Books

Published – Out now

Price - £16.99 Hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook

Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who put Charles VII on the throne and spearheaded France's victory over Britain before being burned by the English as a heretic and witch.

But things are not always as they appear.
Jeanne d'Arc was only five when three angels and saints first came to her. Shrouded by a halo of heavenly light, she believed their claim to be holy. The Archangel Michael and Saint Margaret told her she was the foretold Warrior Maid of Lorraine, fated to free France and put a king upon his throne.

Saint Catherine made her promise to obey their commands and embrace her destiny; the three saints would guide her every step. Jeanne bound herself to these creatures without knowing what she'd done. As she got older, Jeanne grew to mistrust and fear the voices, and they didn't hesitate to punish her cruelly for disobedience. She quickly learned that their cherished prophecy was more important than the girl expected to make it come true.

Jeanne is only a shepherd's daughter, not the Warrior Maid of the prophecy, but she is stubborn and rebellious, and finds ways to avoid doing - and being - what these creatures want. Resistance has a terrifying price, but Jeanne is determined to fight for the life she wants.

But when the cost grows too high, Jeanne will risk everything to save her brother, her one true friend and the man she loves.

Not everyone is destined to be a hero. Sometimes you have no choice.

History as know gets told by the winning sides…primarily for too long wealthy men in power making the truth fit their view of the world. History in reality is gaps, mythologies, and half-truths particularly in times when the historical record is suspect. In those gaps are where fantasy often resides be it the tales of King Arthur, Robin Hood or various other semi-mythological figures that sit on the edges of time. With Jeanne of Arc we have an unusual figure – a heroine who has told us they have visions from God. We know they existed we are probably less sure of why they did what they did or what they really saw particularly in our more rational times. In Divine Heretic Jaime Lee Moyer provides an alterative approach to Jeanne’s story giving her a voice and a slightly more fantastical origin to compelling effect.

In this novel Jeanne walks us through her life from growing up in a loving family to the various assaults the English placed on her land leading to family grief. Her country home sits in a time where belief in God is matched with belief I the spirits of the world. A wise shepherd may pray to both just in case. Jeanne though finds herself under the attention of three entities she initially calls angels but soon recognises as monsters. They have decided Jeanne matches the prophecy of The Maid who will make the new Dauphin King of France and save her from invaders. Jeanne grows into a young woman and sad circumstances result in her fleeing her home and coming under the watch of the Dauphin and in particular the kind but mysterious Ethan who fights for him. Strange events, rivalries, and a desire for power from others pushes Jeanne unwillingly into a role she fears but she also finds potential love. Her future though appears pre-ordained.

What I enjoyed about this story is Jeanne’s voice – Moyer makes Jeanne less a symbol and more a young woman trying to make sense of a dangerous world and her role in it. She isn’t a battle-hungry zealot she is a lot more ordinary although always happy to speak her mind and do what she can for those she cares aboyt. She is puzzled by the three entities she meets and also realising how the role of women confines her in the time she lives. Moyer is very keen in the story to explore the role of women (high and low born) and how Jeanne ends up crossing an unusual line for the time she was born in. I did find her relationship with Ethan fascinating and the emotional heart of the story– the monsters label him her Paladin but their bond becomes something more romantic and heartfelt; in this tale Ethan is also notably a man of colour in what is still largely all-white France so its another example of people crossing boundaries. Their growing romance felt the most tender part of the book

The first third of the book is focused on her growing up and early dashes with both the ‘monsters’ and the English but book also explores how women were even on her own side viewed as property when Jeanne attracts the attention of a middle aged blacksmith. The next third has this commoner arriving in the household of the Dauphin and again as she sees women have roles to play. They can’t marry for love but property. Finally, the endgame focuses on what we know in our own history. In some ways the tone is very warm and has an air of mythical but then moments of battle and sexual violence. The fantastic elements here are ethereal the entities that Joan meets have little exploration of who and what they are, and we certainly grow to fear what they mean for Jeanne’s future as they care more about the future world they want than her. This is a tale of someone on a path created by forces beyond her control and who will punish her (or those she loves) for rejecting it.

It does feel closest in approach to historical fiction, but this tale is giving a less well-known piece of history their own interpretation and potential outcome. Those who like their fantasy front and centre may find this a little outside their comfort zone, but I do like the hazy boundaries of truth and fiction Moyer has put in place. Overall a really interesting and unusual read that gives a tragic figure perhaps a little more hope than I was expecting.