For centuries the story of Joan of Arc has held a special fascination for writers all over the world. Each has seen her in a different way. Novelist Thomas Keneally is no exception. For him Joan--or Jehanne--is a rather ordinary young girl, a plain-spoken bewildered adolescent-albeit one who literally saved France for Charles VII. Concentrating largely on the Maid's lifting of the seige of Orleans, Keaneally's research has been impeccable and his interpretation brilliant. As victory is assured, Jehanne--who by this time is regarded by many as an unchivalrous transvestite witch--undergoes a natural transformation which at once makes her woman and inevitably seals her doom. And she knew it.