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Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Mark Twain
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Price: $5.00 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Book Description

November 7, 2002 Dover Thrift Editions
Regarded by many as the most luminous example of Twain's work, this historical novel chronicles the French heroine's life, as purportedly told by her longtime friend — Sieur Louis de Conté. A panorama of stirring scenes recount Joan's childhood in Domremy, the story of her voices, the fight for Orleans, the splendid march to Rheims, and much more.

Frequently Bought Together

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Dover Thrift Editions) + Joan of Arc: In her own words + Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witnesses
Price for all three: $29.76

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Dover Publications (November 7, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0486424596
  • ISBN-13: 978-0486424590
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A paean to the bravery and spirit of Joan of Arc, this novel by Mark Twain is also his most scholarly, having taken twelve years to write. Clearly fascinated by Joan's "voices" and her sense of mission, Twain delves into her religious passion and her belief that God has chosen her to free France from England and restore the Dauphin to the throne. Often focusing on the arguments and trials in which Joan participates throughout her life, Twain shows her childhood attempt to "save the fairies," her struggle to become general of France, and ultimately, her defense against heresy and sorcery. Through these, Twain attempts to reconcile her spiritual commitment with the tumultuous temporal world in which she is engaged.

Born in Domremy in 1412, seventy-five years after the beginning of the Hundred Years War, Joan, an Armagnac, supports the isolated Dauphin, son of Charles VI; another faction supports the Duke of Burgundy, allied with the British. When Joan is fifteen, her angelic voices tell her she will lead God's armies, win back France, and restore the Dauphin. By the time she is seventeen she is General-in-Chief of France. After lifting the siege of Orleans, achieving many victories, and finally, standing beside the Dauphin at his coronation, she is, however, captured by the Burgundians. Sold to the English, she is later surrendered to an Inquisition in Rouen for trial as a heretic and sorceress. The Dauphin fails to intervene, and at age nineteen she is burned at the stake.

Twain creates a fast-paced story about this tumultuous period, creating a series of repeating characters who anchor Joan's story from the time of childhood until her death.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Is that you, Mark Twain? May 8, 2006
By G. Ian
Format:Paperback
I came upon this book by accident. I had heard of "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Pierre DeConte." I looked it up in Amazon Com and found to my surprise that it was written by Mark Twain! Now, I've talked to a lot of folks, and this book is not altogether unknown, but most folks have never heard of it, let alone read it. This is way different from Tom and Huck, and the multitude of clever quips we've all heard from Mark Twain. Evidently he considered it his best work, a work of love, even though he knew that it would never hit it big time on the market.

I found the book fascinating, moving, and best of all, true. I not only enjoyed it immensely, but I read it over the period of several readings to a bunch of 5-7 graders, who also really enjoyed it (these are kids who are usually "too big" for being read to).

It is plain that Twain took great pains to make sure that the book was as historically accurate as possible, accepting the fact that he wrote it in first person through the person of Sire Louis DeConte. The only question I would like cleared up for me is how much license he took with that one character, and what is actually known about him from history.

I don't recommend many books, but I would highly recommend this one. Following my tendency I bought the budget edition, but if I had spent a bit more, I could have a book that I could lend out to friends more. I have lent this one to various teen-agers, but it is showing the wear and tear.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mark Twain wasn't the only pseudonym used my Samuel Clemens. When this book was first serialized in Harper's Magazine in 1895, it was presented as "Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France" - a found manuscript with no connection to the famous author. The book presents itself as a memoir by a fictional companion of Joan's written for his family in the final years of life. The narrator claims to be a childhood friend of hers who, being one of the few people of her village that can write, accompanies her and becomes her secretary during her military career. After her capture and imprisonment, he sneaks into Rouen, where she is to be tried, and becomes an assistant to the official recorder of the the events. Thus, the author has established a single voice that can tell the complete history of the brief, miraculous life of the Maid of Orleans.

The events of the book have been simply summed up in a paragraph in WIKIPEDIA's entry on the Hundred Years War as follows:

By 1428, the English were ready to pursue the war again, laying siege to Orleans'Their

force was insufficient to fully invest the city, but larger French forces remained passive.

In 1429, Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin to send her to the siege, saying she had received

visions from God telling her to drive out the English. She raised the morale of the local

troops and they attacked the English redoubts, forcing the English to lift the siege.

Inspired by Joan the French took several English strongpoints on the Loire.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Twain brings Saint Joan to life! July 17, 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The master storyteller, Mark Twain, used his immense talent to create this fictionalized account of Saint Joan's life. Even though it is fiction, it is still very historically accurate and stays true to the story of Saint Joan of Arc. Because it is fiction, Twain is able to bring out Saint Joan's personality in a way that reminds us that she was a beautiful, vibrant, passionate young woman who sacrificed everything to serve God and save her country

I think the very fact that Twain would even choose to write a biography about Saint Joan is a further testament to her greatness. Twain was personal friends with U.S. Grant and could much more easily have written a biography about him. He also lived at a time when some of the greatest military leaders ever lived like Lee, Jackson, etc., so if all he had been looking for was a famous military leader he could have also chosen one of them. Obviously, he was looking for someone even greater to write about. I think his own words probably explain why he chose Saint Joan when he said that: "She was perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history."

Whether you are a Saint Joan devotee or not I think you will enjoy reading this book. It is well written and easy to read and covers one of the greatest stories in world history. If you already know about the life of Saint Joan, I also think you will end up loving this account because of the way Twain brings her to life. Definitely one of the best of all the biographies written about Saint Joan of Arc and considered by Twain himself to be his greatest work. Five stars are probably not enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure not to be missed...
How could I have missed this amazing treasure of a book all these years only discovering it now by accident. Read more
Published 7 days ago by margaretbrown
5.0 out of 5 stars good book.
My son has enjoyed reading this book, very much, it came in a timesly manner and was in good condition when it arrived , thankyou.
Published 3 months ago by janem.joyner
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Work of Historical Fiction!
I am actively recommending this book to a lot of my friends and most of them have no idea it even exists. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alan Brisley
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
I had never heard of this work until recently reading about it on a Joan of Arc site on line. For all people of faith, this is a must. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ChloeHistorian
3.0 out of 5 stars art work of cover
book is ok, but who is the artist of the picture on cover.?
Twain brings perhaps to much fictional addition to the story
Published 5 months ago by helen schmidt
5.0 out of 5 stars Joan of Arc
This book by Mark Twain was fascinating. I would recommend it to others.
I am told Mark Twain spent 12 years of research before writing this book. Read more
Published 5 months ago by maurlove
5.0 out of 5 stars Inescapable power
I am so grateful that this third book was thrust upon us by my insistent daughter. I knew only that the peasant girl, Joan of Arc, led the French troops to oust the English and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Joyce
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Twain's Joan of Arc
Great story of a greater historical and religious figure. Very accessible historical drama. Humerous at times in keeping with the author's style. Makes Joan very real. Read more
Published 10 months ago by jackmo
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Twain's Number One Hero of All Time
For Mark Twain this was his favorite book which is interesting because it's different from the rest of his books. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Steve Reina
5.0 out of 5 stars Twain was right ...
When MT published his version of Joan of Arc he wrote " I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. Read more
Published on June 4, 2011 by CR Dunning
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Mark Twain's Joan of Arc
They are indeed the same book in two different editions.
Sep 29, 2009 by E. Von Ray |  See all 3 posts
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