Was she a saint or a witch? A visionary or a madwoman? Or an extraordinary peasant girl who, at God's bidding, led an army, saved France and paid the price by burning alive? Whatever the truth, the tale has proved irresistible to writers for centuries. Kimberly Cutter's portrait of "Jehanne" as a strange, gritty teenage tomboy and true believer is compelling. We get inside her head and hear the voices that lead her to her fate. But Cutter's battle scenes are repetitive, the narrative a bit stilted. Despite its zealous heroine, The Maid never really catches fire. — Jocelyn McClurg  Tides of War: A NovelBy Stella TillyardHenry Holt, 353 pp., $27* * *  Historian Stella Tillyard's passion for the Regency Period shines through in her first novel, which is as painstakingly detailed as any piece of non-fiction. The story revolves around the relationship between newlyweds James and Harriet Raven, who are pulled apart when James is called to war. The descriptions of the era, from the battlegrounds of the Peninsula War to the lab that captivates Harriet back in England, are enchanting. But a massive cast of fictional and real characters (from the Duke of Wellington to the painter Goya) muddles and slows the plot. — Lindsay Deutsch  The Lady of the RiversBy Philippa GregoryTouchstone, 443 pp., $27.99* * *  With The Lady of the Rivers, the queen of Brit historical fiction, Philippa Gregory, burnishes the crown that was a wee tarnished by 2009's history-heavy The White Queen, about Elizabeth Woodville. But this rip-roarer possesses the same intimate imaginative texture of Gregory's classic The Other Boleyn Girl. Set during in the 15th-century War of the Roses, it centers on Woodville's mother. Born in Luxembourg, Jacquetta got married at 17 to the powerful British Duke of Bedford. Widowed early, she married a poor English squire but rose to power at the turbulent English court while bearing 13 children, including a future queen, Elizabeth Woodville. What makes the novel so delicious is Gregory's ability to inhabit the mind, heart and body of this medieval girl as she grows to womanhood. It's not about Lancaster vs. York; it's about love, power and human weakness - with a subtle feminist undertone. Yummy. —Deirdre Donahue  The Favored QueenBy Carolly EricksonSt. Martin's Press, 304 pp., $25.99* * ½  Dismissed for centuries as a drippy milksop compared with Henry VIII's other hellcats, Bride No. 3, Jane Seymour, gets her due in the quirky The Favored Queen. In a court of ceaseless intrigue, flamboyant characters, and ruthless self advancement, small, plain Jane has a strong moral code and a watching intelligence. Most of all, she's loyal. To penniless relatives, to her former mistress, the abandoned Catherine of Aragon, even visiting the deposed queen on her deathbed despite being Henry's new wife. Most perceptive is the way Erickson draws on Jane's dysfunctional childhood. (Her father was a scandal, attacking young females, including daughter-in-laws.) While many Tudor fanatics may balk at Erickson's extreme creative license, others will be intrigued. —Donahue
In addition to the novel about Joan of Arc is Stella Tillyard's first novel, Philippa Gregory's latest and Carolly Erickson's story about Jane Seymour.