Other editions of book Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

This ebook includes a biographical introduction, a short, critical analysis of Twain and a brief introduction to this work.Published in 1896 by Harper Brothers following serialisation in Harpers Magazine, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was Twain's ninth novel and the one he considered his best work. Although the Joan story is essentially true, this account by Twain is fictionalised, with the author – who kept his identity hidden for the serialisation – claiming that it had been 'freely translated' from an original manuscript by one Jean Francois Alden. While the plot is familiar enough – suffice to say that Joan doesn't come out of it in a great condition – the means by which the story is related is novel, with Twain inventing a page as the narrator who manages to be close to Joan from her childhood all the way through to acting as a defendant during her trial. As with A Connecticut Yankee, such a device does create problems with the plotting, but on the whole it works well enough to get Joan's story across on a personal level.

Mark Twain's work on Joan of Arc is titled in full Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte who is identified further as Joan's page and secretary. The work is fictionally presented as a translation from the manuscript by Jean Francois Alden, or, in the words of the published book, "Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France". De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page Louis de Contes, and provides narrative unity to the story. He is presented as an individual who was with Joan during the three major phases of her life - as a youth in Domremy, as the commander of Charles' army on military campaign, and as a defendant at the trial in Rouen. The book is presented as a translation by Alden of de Conte's memoirs, written in his later years for the benefit of his descendants.

Twain, aware of his reputation as a comic, asked that each installment appear anonymously so that readers will treat the piece seriously. Originally, this novel was published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in April 1895. Regardless, his authorship soon became known and the book edition published by Harper and Brothers in May 1896 credited Mark Twain.The novel is presented as a translation (by "Jean Francois Alden") of memoirs by Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page, Louis de Contes."I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others need no preparation and got none." -- Mark Twain

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

First appearing as an anonymous serial in "Harper’s Magazine" in 1895, “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” was Mark Twain’s final novel and was published as a complete work under his name in 1896. The novel is a stark departure from Twain’s usual comic and satirical writings, which is why Twain insisted it initially be published anonymously so that the public would take it seriously. The work is told from the perspective of a fictionalized version of Joan’s page, Louis de Conte, and is divided into three parts based on Joan’s life: her upbringing, her victorious time as a military commander, and her trial at Rouen. The novel is sympathetic to Joan and suggests that the English deliberately rigged the trial of Joan of Arc to convict her of witchcraft and heresy, a view that recent scholarship seems to support. Twain was deeply fascinated by Joan of Arc for much of his life. He considered “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” to be his best and most important work and spent nearly 15 years researching and working on the novel. The result is a work of sincere and engrossing historical fiction. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Mark Twain's final completed novel, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc recounts the life of the unlikely military commander from the fictionalized perspective of her page, Louis de Conte. After he witnesses her conversing with an angel near their hometown of Domrémy, Joan, a simple peasant girl, declares that she has been chosen by God "to win back France" from the English. Though the townspeople mock her, Joan steadfastly embraces her destiny as a commander of the army of Charles VII of France, a role that will propel her to the heights of glory and the depths of despair.