 An anonymous review in the June 1796 "Critical Review" argued, "When the character of the Maid of Orleans, and the part taken by her against the English, are considered, together with the manner in which the history has been treated by other writers, some suspicion may at first arise, that Mr. Southey has chosen a subject scarcely suited to the dignity of epic poetry.His prudence at least may be called in question.How can he expect to interest the English nation in the fortunes of a heroine who was an active champion against his own countrymen, or be hardly enough to felicitate those successes that involved the English in disgrace?"