Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc by Katherine J. Chen

Loading player...
Journalist Nancy Richards chats with author Katherine J. Chen about her latest book, Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc.

About The Book:
Girl. Warrior. Heretic. Saint? France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. Yet out of the chaos, an unlikely heroine emerges.

Reckless, steel-willed and brilliant, Joan has survived a childhood steeped in both joy and violence to claim an extraordinary - and fragile - position at the head of the French army. The battlefield and the royal court are full of dangers and Joan finds herself under suspicion from all sides - as well as under threat from her own ambition.

With unforgettably vivid characters and propulsive storytelling, Joan is a thrilling epic, a triumph of historical fiction, and a feminist celebration of one remarkable - and remarkably real - woman who left an indelible mark on history.

About Katherine:
Katherine J. Chen is the author of the novel Mary B. Her work has been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, and the historical fiction anthology Stories from Suffragette City. She received her MFA from Boston University, where she was a senior teaching fellow and awarded the Florence Engel Randall Fiction Prize.

About Nancy:
Nancy Richards is an independent journalist with a good few years experience on radio and in print. As a radio presenter, areas of specialisation included shows on literature, the environment and ‘women’s issues’. In print she’s covered environment matters, books and literature, lifestyle, travel and décor amongst other things. She has a podcast called Books Stories People and is founder of an NPO: Woman Zone and The Women’s Library at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town. She also oversees Woman Zone’s podcast series covering books by women writers and other stories. She’s authored/co-authored Beautiful Homes: as featured in Fairlady magazine; Woman Today – 50 years of South African women on radio and Being a Woman in Cape Town: Telling your story. She is a speaker, media trainer and board member of NPO Soil for Life. Born in London, she is based in Cape Town
17 Oct 2022 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Where to From Here? by Tara Roos (with Twanji Kalula)

In this episode of Pagecast, political analyst Tara Roos joins Twanji Kalula for a sharp, no-nonsense conversation about her new book, Where to From Here?, and what it reveals about the state of South African politics. Roos argues that South Africa has entered an age of uncertainty, as populism rises…
29 Jun 36 min

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (with Mphuthumi Ntabeni)

In this episode of Pagecast, Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author Tan Twan Eng joins Cape Town-based political commentator and writer Mphuthumi Ntabeni for a conversation about his latest novel, The House of Doors. Set in 1921 at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, the novel follows Robert Hamlyn, a…
22 Jun 29 min

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids (with Gabeba Baderoon)

In this episode of Pagecast, South African playwright and novelist Nadia Davids joins renowned poet and scholar Gabeba Baderoon for a conversation about her latest novel, Cape Fever. Cape Fever follows Soraya Matas, a young maid who takes up a position in the beautiful, decaying home of the eccentric Mrs…
15 Jun 40 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Mandy Weiner

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Mandy Weiner sat down with Shakti Pillay from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her latest book, The Deal. In this episode, Mandy pulls back the curtain on the story behind the book -- the kind of deep, forensic storytelling that…
9 Jun 6 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Nozipho Tshabalala

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Nozipho Tshabalala sat down with Mpumi Mgidlana from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her memoir, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go. In this episode, Nozipho reflects on the question at the heart of her book: when the…
8 Jun 16 min