Product Description

Very few people know that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent twelve years in research and many months in France doing archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan's unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written by both sides, the French and the English. Because of Mark Twain's antipathy to institutional religion, one might expect an anti-Catholic bias toward Joan or at least toward the bishops and theologians who condemned her. Instead one finds a remarkably accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country's greatest storytellers. The very fact that Mark Twain wrote this book and wrote it the way he did is a powerful testimony to the attractive power of the Catholic Church's saints. This is a book that really will inform and inspire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8122 in Books
• Published on: 1989-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 455 pages

From the Publisher
14 1.5-hour cassettes

Customer Reviews

The inspiring and poignant tale of a lasting heroine.
I read Twain's Joan of Arc simply because it was included in a collection with 2 of my perennial favorites: The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I loved Joan of Arc also. But it is a very different cup of tea.

Nowhere else does Mark Twain rein in his irreverent spirit as in this work! He allows his sense of humor to emerge only in the stories of Joan's peripheral friends and fellow villagers (the Paladin, most notably, and even the narrator in the story of the love poem.) The sense of the author's genuine respect and admiration for his amazing heroine permeates the book.

The story of Joan of Arc, always a moving tale, takes on greater weight when a man like Mark Twain - a worldly, cultured, highly intelligent, and totally irreverent man - not only gives 12 years of grueling research to it, but then produces a book that is so unequivocally respectful and devoted.

Such a picture he draws! THIS is a character to excite anyone's admiration, and to inspire us all to give our best selves. And throughout the tale, while one recognizes that it is indeed a "story", it rings convincingly true. No matter what construction a religious or non-religious reader may put on the happenings of Joan of Arc's story, it is still a story of an enduringly noble character and amazing intellect. A woman who stood - and still stands - above the remainder of her species.

This is an inspiring and uplifting piece of work.

Truly Beautiful Biography!..........
..............the captivating story of Joan of Arc come to life through the writing of Mark Twain! This work is remarkable not only due to Twain's writing ability, which thoroughly conveys the moving and powerful story of a heroine and martyr, but because we are aware of the twelve years of research he did before embarking upon putting it in writing. We trust and become enthralled over the story he presents. This is a story I want my future children to read.

Twain, through a ficitional narrator takes us through the story of Joan's simple and modest upbringing to her response to God's command that she save France from the English. We follow her into battle, see her become the teenage commander-in-chief of an army, win victories, struggle with a weak French king, and finally fall victim to the leadership in Burgundy and the corruption within the church. Twain brings us through her entire trial, where we see young Joan withstand grueling questioning and physical and psychological torture for months on end. Through it all she never falls victim to traps deliberately set for her that are solely designed to prove her an idolater, sorcerer and heretic. Ultimately, we walk with her as she takes the last journey of her life, to the stake to die by fire.

This work is based on well preserved information about the experiences of Joan of Arc. Twain makes a point of telling us that "The Official Record of the Trials and Rehabilitation of Joan of Arc is the most remarkable history that exists in any language; A deeply fascinating story.............found in its entirety in the Official Trials and Rehabilitation". We therefore know that his sources are well researched and ones we ourselves can access. Twain beautifully reconstructs Joan's early life based on this information, doing her great honor throughout the novel. We realize, too, that as the story progresses, we are presented her trials in their full, true detail. Twain also tells us that Joan's story was almost one that was lost, having not been very well known for approximately four hundred years after it occurred.

Reading this book is truly to experience the incredible life and achievements of Joan of Arc. I highly recommend it.

A Real Gem
My twelve year old daughter and I read this book aloud as a supplement to our studies of the Middle Ages. Before we began I thought the 452 pages would be a bit daunting but by the time we finished we wished the book was longer. This was an incredible story told by a wonderful storyteller. The characters became more than just names in a history book. We now have an in-depth understanding of the time period, the politics, and the corruption of the Church. This book by Mark Twain, which took him two years to write and involved twelve years of research, is written in the voice of Joan's page and secretary, the Sieur Louis de Conte. De Conte knew Joan as a child and was the one person who was with her through everything up until the fatal end. The book is divided into three sections. The first section details Joan's life as a village peasant when her Voices came to her directing her to take up her mission to rid France of the English, and crown Charles VII the king. In the second section, Joan's military campaign is described and explored. Militarily speaking, it was a triumph. After all, she was the only person in all of history to hold the supreme command of a nation's armies at the age of seventeen. And she was a girl for goodnes sake! It was unheard of at the time and would still be remarkable today. The third section deals with Joan's trial for witchcraft where her strength of character is especially evident. To the end, she claimed her Voices came from God not from Satan as charged. She was unwavering on this point up until she was burned at the stake. Her trial was a sham designed to further the interests of the infamous French bishop, Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais. She died a martyr's death while her beloved France and her King looked on doing nothing to save her. This book was particularly impacting for my daughter as it dealt with a young girl who was remarkable for her character, her religious devotion and her strength. It was a special experience to share it together as a read aloud and I would recommend it highly to anyone looking to further their understanding of a remarkable young girl who changed the course of history.