Author Louis de Bernieres, known for "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," has described a recent bonfire accident that resulted in severe burns to his foot and leg, prompting him to reflect on historical accounts of suffering, particularly the immolation of Joan of Arc.
De Bernieres recounted that on May 31, he set alight a large bonfire. While shoveling ash after it had burned down, his foot sank into the embers, causing intense pain. He realized his boot was filled with hot cinders. "I felt the teeth of the most intense pain suddenly bite into me, and realised that my boot had filled with cinders," he wrote.
He initially attempted to treat the burn himself, running to a rain barrel to cool his foot and later applying aloe vera gel and antiseptic cream. However, by the third day, his foot and lower leg had reddened and swollen, prompting him to seek medical attention. He spent three hours in an emergency room, where dead skin was removed. Photographs of his burns were sent to a burns center, and he was subsequently admitted to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.
At the hospital, de Bernieres received an antibiotic drip, as skin grafts could not be performed on infected flesh. He underwent a procedure where a section of skin was taken from his thigh to cover his burns after the dead tissue was removed. He described the experience as "debrided, which is a nice way of saying that all the dead and infected flesh was removed."
While recovering, de Bernieres noted the efficiency and kindness of hospital staff, from doctors and nurses to cleaners and food trolley attendants. He also observed the multicultural nature of the National Health Service (NHS) staff, highlighting how people from diverse backgrounds worked together with a common purpose of healing.
"The strangest thing about all this is that I have enjoyed almost all of it," de Bernieres wrote. "Hospitals are noisy and bustling places even at night, and I would have hated it if I had not been too sick to be bothered, but it felt like being a working part in a huge healing machine."
His personal experience with severe burns led him to contemplate the suffering of those burned at the stake throughout history. He cited historical accounts of burning as a punishment for unfaithful wives in medieval times and the mass burnings of Cathars in the Languedoc region of France, where thousands were killed by “good Christians.”
De Bernieres specifically mentioned standing in the square in Rouen where Joan of Arc was executed. "Anyone with a strong imagination finds themselves appalled, sickened and overwhelmed by the thought of death by fire, especially if it is inflicted on purpose," he stated. He added that he gained a "tiny insight into what it would have been like to have experienced martyrdom by fire," describing it as an agony beyond comprehension and noting that he now understands why Joan of Arc screamed "J-e-s-u-s!" when she began to burn.