THE MAID AND THE QUEEN: The Secret History of Joan of Arc

I am familiar with the story of Joan of Arc but not the back story of how she received a strong push from a woman named Yolande of Aragon. Yolande is a mystery to me. She was strong, smart, convincing, and a great chessmaster. I call her a chessmaster because in order to play the game of chess you have to be strategic, patient, have a good game plan and anticpate your opponent's moves. Also as the saying goes "Behind every great man is a great woman".

However as much as I liked learning about Yolande, I must admit that in the beginning I found her childhood and story a bit dry. Then came JOan's story and I kind of skimmed over it as I already knew how it would end. The last third of the book was what I liked. It talked about Joan and Yolande and how they came to be. Yolande becamse more of a prominent fiigure in thie book then to me. She had a reason for everything that she did. Again still in awe of what Joan did. One of the best parts of this whole book is the foot notes. They were like extra bonuses to this book. They gave a quick fact about a person or event. I almost would have rather read the foot notes then the book. People wanting to learn more about Joan may be a little disappointed as this book is more focused on Yolande and the back story then just Joan. However if you do enjoy history then you will enjoy this book. The Maid and the Queen is some good reading.