The Maid

Kimberly Cutter received her MFA from the University of Virginia. She was the West Coast Editor for W Magazine for four years, and has written for W, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Marie Claire, where she is currently a Contributing Editor. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Joan of Arc has been depicted as a heroine, a victim, a witch and a saint, but Kimberly Cutter makes of her a heartbreakingly real human being. Searingly unsentimental but emotionally powerful, this is a groundbreaking and ultimately beautiful book. Essential reading A L Berridge, author of Honour and the Sword In Cutter's creative telling, the perfection of nature contrasts with the brutality of battle that has become an everyday part of Jehanne's world ... Cutter makes the story of Saint Joan worth retelling by breathing new life into these characters and dramatizing the complex politics of their era in a strikingly engaging way ... Cutter's depiction of this frequently told story does what all the best historical novels do: It raises the ongoing questions we need to ask ourselves: Is war ever justified? Why do we destroy those who inspire us? Should we put our faith in our own understanding of God or in someone else's interpretation? ... By exploring these questions, The Maid sheds new light on a legend from the past and ultimately succeeds in illuminating the present Washington Post Kimberly Cutter's novel comes at you like one of Joan's visions: intense, mesmerizing and utterly commanding. The experience of reading it - and it is an experience - is both exhausting and exhilarating. Joan of Arc might've been a saint or a lunatic, but in Cutter's artful, sympathetic hands, she is first and foremost a human being. She lives, breathes, fights, dies, and you are there every step of the way. The Maid is an astounding achievement John Stephens, author of The Emerald Atlas Pacy enough to outstrip any cliche about Saint Joan, yet also a tender portrait of a young girl drawn into a hateful destiny Michelle Lovric, author of The Book of Human Skin A fiery portrait of one of history's most exalted heroines. Cutter's lavish imagery is outstanding and her dynamic characters are truly absorbing. The Maid is an entertaining and triumphant re-imagining of a courageous, faithful