When Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431, her executioners knew the rumors would swirl. They even raked back the coals at the foot of the stake to demonstrate for the onlookers just how dead Joan really was.
But given Joan’s claims of holy mission and her status as a heroine of the people, many admirers didn’t believe in the executioners’ evidence. They waited for their martyr to return.
When a young woman named Claude heard of this widespread belief in Joan’s survival, she hatched a plan — one that would take her from lowly peasant woman to lauded saint-to-be.
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