The Maid of Orleans (poem) The Maid of Orleans (poem) The Maid of Orleans () is a satirical poem by François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name, Voltaire. It was first published in 1899, but Voltaire had written it over a century beforehand; while he had started writing the text in 1730, he never completed it. It was translated into English by W. H. Ireland. Voltaire was undoubtedly one of the most controversial writers and philosophers of the Enlightenment Age, and "The Maid of Orleans" was also certainly one of his more contentious works. An epic and scandalous satire concerning the life of the
HMS Firebrand (1694) HMS Firebrand (1694) Firebrand was a Royal Navy fireship built at Limehouse in 1694, the first Royal Naval vessel to bear the name. "Firebrand" served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. She is recorded as convoying five merchantmen in company with "Winchester" near Barbados in March 1695. "Firebrand" was lost during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 when a navigational error sent Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet through dangerous reefs west of Cornwall while on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. On the night of 22 October 1707, "Firebrand", commanded by Captain Francis Percy, smashed into the Outer Gilstone Rock off