ABSTRACT

The past in the Living history novel was an explicit function of the narrative to position characters in constructive intersubjective dialogues. Novels in that sub-genre of historical fi ction were overtly concerned with issues pertinent to the present. The historical fi ction of Joan of Arc, although not so explicitly focused on the modern age, nonetheless demonstrates an implicit predilection for modernity as revealed through author’s perceptions of reality. The intent of this chapter is to further explore the humanistic premise that the present represents progress from the past by examining that apparently seamless fusion of reality and fi ction in historical children’s literature of Joan of Arc. I will argue that the perception of reality in these novels is a slippery task. At what point does a reader’s understanding of a text morph from historical recreation to historical fabrication? To what extent does fabrication in the context of historical fi ction invalidate, fi rst, the truth to what did happen and, second, the truth to human experience? And to what extent does the author’s historical context affect their perception of the Joan of Arc story? These are important questions when thinking about how reality is or can be perceived in fi ctional retellings of the past.