Although Joan’s final fate is, of course, unchanged in Mr. Hatch’s account, the feeling of loss resulting from her tragic mortal end is reconciled by her triumphant achievement, testimony, and enduring legacy. In Mr. Hatch’s depiction, she is portrayed as a successful, obedient servant of God. She provides a reigning example of the power found in purity, virtue, fidelity, and in sheer strength of character. Joan of Arc is a heroine to women and to men alike. She was and is a saint in every sense of the term. Now, thanks in no small part to the consecrated work of biographer Robert D. Hatch, we may consider her among those pre-latter-day saints to whom we often refer as the “great reformers” who came forth during the spiritual darkness of the Great Apostasy to lay the groundwork for the Restoration of the Gospel. Many of them, like Joan, paid the ultimate price for the glimpses of truth they were fortunate enough to experience, generous enough to share, and courageous enough to refuse to deny even though the powers of death and hell raged against them. 174 pages with 14 color photos
