Joan of Arc is a historical figure often treated as a mythical hero. Her latest biographer, Kathryn Harrison, a versatile writer of fiction and nonfiction, has undertaken the gargantuan task of narrating the saint’s life with both research and imagination. In Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured (Doubleday, $28.95), Harrison paints the fullest, most realistic portrait of Joan yet. With a nod to those who have presented Joan’s story before (the list includes Shakespeare and Shaw), Harrison retraces the incredible tale of a young woman who manages to move an entire nation. Her account features an excellent timeline of Joan’s life and the events of her era, putting her subject in a wider context and illuminating how Joan must have been viewed by her contemporaries. How did they see her—as a madwoman? A sociopath? A prophet? Read this eye-opening biography and find out.