Saint Joan of Arc was published by Cobden-Sanderson in 1936. Sackville-West had loved Joan since childhood — drawn to the combination of martial courage, spiritual intensity, and refusal to conform that Joan embodied. The biography draws on the extensive trial records (both the condemnation trial of 1431 and the rehabilitation trial of 1456), on contemporary chronicles, and on Sackville-West’s own visits to the places of Joan’s life.
The biography is distinguished by its combination of scholarly rigor and passionate engagement. Sackville-West is scrupulous about evidence — she refuses to romanticize, to psychologize without basis, or to attribute motives without textual support. But she is also frankly emotional about her subject: she admires Joan’s courage, is angered by her betrayal, and is moved by her death with an intensity that purely academic biography cannot achieve.
Sackville-West’s particular contribution is her understanding of Joan as a practical figure as well as a spiritual one: Joan was not merely a visionary but a military commander, a political strategist, and a diplomat. She dealt with kings, bishops, and generals with intelligence and determination. The biography refuses the reduction of Joan to either mad mystic or proto-feminist icon, insisting on the full complexity of a historical person who was also, by the Church’s determination, a saint.
Collecting Saint Joan of Arc
First edition (Cobden-Sanderson, London, 1936): Cloth with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $100–$300
- Very good: $40–$100