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Jan 11, 2012

Kim rated it:

Joan of Arc, called of God at the age of thirteen to save France in the 100 Year War against the English. At the age of seventeen she asked to have her own men at war and be sent to the king, or the Dauphin. She was denied the first time she asked and she then went a second time and she received the help of two knights. She was sent before the king and she gave him a sign, yet she was still sent before a jury of judges and priests to perceive if she was sane or a heretic. She passes with flyi More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2011

Kathy rated it:

Why had I never heard of this book? I was an English major! I read lots and lots of lesser books in college and no one even breathed a hint that this book existed. Thankfully, I saw it on a friend's bookshelf, and decided to read it myself.

About this book, Twain said: "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 More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2010

Terrence rated it:

It is unbelievable that after all the years of school through completing two masters degrees, I never heard of this work by Mark Twain AKA Samuel Clemens until I found it on the shelves of a religious bookstore in Emmitsburg, MD on a pilgrimage to visit the shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. And yet, Mark Twain wrote that he considered Joan of Arc the best of all his books, "twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing." Why do the so-called intellectual elite omit mention of More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2010

Raphael rated it:

This was a very special book. The only reason I did not rate it higher is it is very difficult to read. It is the beautiful story of Joan of Arc and the love and respect Mark Twain had for her comes across on every page. In an essay about her he stated, "she is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced." I was intrigued when I saw the book was written by Mark Twain. As a Catholic I was concerned how someone with his complicated religious belie More...

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Sep 07, 2009

Bap rated it:

This was Twain's favorite of his works. It came at the end of his career when his indignation overcome his humor. This explains, perhaps why this is not one of his better known works. He tells the story of Joan of Arc, the illiterate peasant girl who powered by voices that told her that she must rally a people to its king and country to drive the English back across the channel.

It is astounding that this girl of 17 should achieve so much and tragic that she was captured and bur More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Kristopher rated it:

I'd already read a book on Joan in preparation for a trip to France, but a friend happened to mention this literally in the eleventh hour, so I took it with me. I wasn't disappointed. I always hated Twain's Finn and Sawyer, but curiously seemed to enjoy his Connecticut Yankee much more. Perhaps he should have stuck with historical fiction. This, his labor of love, stands out in more ways than one.

Having actually looked long and hard into the obscure trial proceedings, Twain brought the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2008

Alesia rated it:

Very few people know that Mark Twain actually wrote a book about Joan of Arc. It took him years and many trips to France to collect the necessary information. The story of the famous peasant girl is told in a lively manner, with a special Mark Twain touch, but preserving the historical preciseness as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the story of Joan of Arc.

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Aug 30, 2009

Isidore added it

The value I derived from this book was not in its portrait of Joan of Arc; in that Twain is just as fervent a heroine-worshiper as are probably most who tackle the odd, short life of this girl-soldier. That Twain of all people could judge someone's life so praiseworthy gives me hope that the entire lot of us aren't a waste.

What I found entertaining and useful were the author's thoughts on religion versus faith and the shameful, self-serving games that politicians have always and will More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Noreen rated it:

Mark Twain's _Joan of Arc_, published first in 1899 in Harper's Magazine, is an amazing read. I didn't know about this book, but found it by happy accident while browsing Twain titles in an actual bookstore (not many still exist where I live). The books is a fictionalized account narrated by a fictional narrator, but seems to stick closely to the documented facts about Joan's short life. Yet it brings this story alive and makes sense of what has always been a bit confusing to me, especially fact More...

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Nov 22, 2011

Gerald rated it:

I’m not sure that I could say I “enjoyed” this book, but I am very glad that I read it. It is quite long, and very detailed, but told in the interesting way that all of Mark Twains stories are told. It was a gruesome time to be alive, and all of that is well portrayed in the story, sprinkled with Twain’s subtle humor and cultural sarcasm, which is always fun if you take the time to notice it.

Halfway through the book I began to wonder if I were being told the truth about Joan, or ju More...

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Sep 17, 2010

travelgirlut rated it:

Confession: I've never read any Mark Twain. I figured this book was a good one to start with since it was his favorite. On the one hand I loved this book because I knew next to nothing about Joan of Arc and loved learning about her life and the amazing things that she did. On the other hand, I had a hard time reading it because I kept getting mad and frustrated at how difficult people made her life, the barriers they put in her way, and the struggles she had, ultimately giving her life. I wo More...

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Mar 06, 2008

Jenny rated it:

This is probably one of my MOST favorite books. The charecter and moral conduct of Joan is so inspiring to me, and Twain has such a way of describing her greatness. I absolutely love it!

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 30, 2011

Eduardo rated it:

I liked this book. It's mostly the non-fiction story of Joan of Arc, with some Mark Twain fiction added to it to make it a great and vivid story. It got just a little long in the middle section, the period of war/battles (vs. the first period of growing up or the third of her capture and trial), but I really enjoyed it. What an amazing character she was! Here's what Mark Twain said about this book:
"I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly wel More...

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Jul 08, 2011

Melody rated it:

I read the first two chapters and skimmed the rest.

It is for those advanced readers who are willing to navigate Twain's recounting of the story of Joan of Arc which is interlaced with his observations of human nature, politics, religion, etc. He uses his nifty narrator trick, like he did with Jumping Frog, hiding behind the persona of one of Joan's playmates, pretending to retell her life story with utmost accuracy. However, he is an unreliable narrator as is evidenced by certain More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Adrian rated it:

This is a unique offering from Mark Twain - it is neither the scathing attack on humanity of his later years, nor the gentle mocking of his earlier career - although a bit of that does creep in - he cannot wholly deny that impulse.

Instead, he shows a picture of chivalry and adventure and some genuine piety and courage - a bit different from Connecticut Yankee or The Prince and the Pauper. He paints Joan of Arc as a reverential hero, pious and fearless and brave, and a martyr.

More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Audrey rated it:

Book report: Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain
~~~

“The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” was written by Mark Twain under the pseudonym “Sieur Louis de Conte”, his fictionalized version of Joan’s page and secretary. Twain describes Joan as a selfless young girl, loyal and faithful, noble and true, forgiving and gracious, wise beyond her years and strong in battle, devoted to God and her country. He concludes his essay by stating, “She is easily and by far the most extraordinary per More...

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Jul 27, 2010

Michele rated it:

I enjoyed learning more about Joan of Arc through this fictionalized account of her life. Her belief in fairies was a surprise to me. Was that a normal view at that time in history? The desertion of Joan of Arc by the King and France after her amazing service to them was easy enough to believe but so disappointing. Twain's depiction of Joan of Arc was also a little difficult to accept. According to him, she had no faults. I think most people have some type of fault and the addition of such More...

1 comment like

Jul 04, 2011

Naomi rated it:

This is my favorite book ever!!!!!!
I think that this is the best of all Mark Twains work.
I love all of his work but this is my favorite.
It is in noval formate but it followes history exactley.
Just to warn all who undertake this book, it is not like his other books.
It is very different from his usual feel.
Mark Twain said "That of all my books JOAN OF ARK is my favorite."
I think he loved it so much because it seems like it is written by a difer More...

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May 14, 2009

Marilyn rated it:

It's hard to imagine that this is one of Mark Twain's novels, because it's so unprejudiced. I learned a lot about French history, through the eyes of the French, for exampale, that King Henry V of England was a slaughterer, not a glorious king. While I was reading the book, I wondered why God saved the French at that point in history. In my estimation, they didn't deserve Joan of Arc. They ended up selling her to the English. I didn't read the last chapter, because I didn't want to read the More...

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Dec 21, 2011

Zachary rated it:

This book is remarkable because it is so completely contrary to Mark Twain's philosophy of the human person. He saw Joan of Ark as the one person in history who causes him to reconsider his generally pessimistic view, and he does it with style, wit, and historical accuracy. If Joan seems a bit too good to be true, that is because that's how Twain saw her; to him, she seemed other-worldly. Twain was a gentleman, and in writing "Joan of Ark" he - like the English and Burgundian genera More...

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Feb 12, 2012

Fawn rated it:

I read this several years ago and loved it. I think I enjoyed it even more this time. Joan of Arc is a hero that our youth need to learn about today. I was inspired by her and her pureness and strength of character. This book also gave me a desire to learn more about French history. Obviously a divinely inspired mission, what events took place in the future that made it so important that France gained their freedom at that time? If anyone out there has any books to recommend to teach me mor More...

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Aug 27, 2011

Rhonda rated it:

Wow. I first got interested in reading a book about Joan of Arc after finding a geocache at her gilded "Maid of Orleans" statue at the Place de France on Decatur Street in New Orleans last March.

I spent the first 1/3 of this book settling into the writing style and the speech, the middle 1/3 LOVING the strategy and the story, and the last 1/3 skipping paragraphs here and there because the Great Trial was so incredibly tedious. I hated reading about it and cannot begin to More...

1 comment like

Aug 27, 2011

Denise rated it:

I am reading this book out loud to my son for school. We both found the first couple of chapters a little silly which made it difficult for us to get in sync with the story. After the beginning, though, the story really picks up and the early chapters fit in nicely. Joan is a heroine and her character is such that most of us probably feel at least a little guilty for not even being able to handle the tasks set before us. Though it is listed as fiction, I put it under biography because it closely More...

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Aug 30, 2011

Shinn rated it:

I bought this book five years ago during my "theological" phase. All this time it has been sitting on my bookshelf, yellowing and getting that lovely golden biscuit smell of old books. I tried to read it twice but couldn't get past the first hundred or so pages and yet, I don't have the heart to give it a lower rating. There's been so much time and devotion poured into this book that it is difficult not to be touched. This is a work of love. The trouble is that, love is often blind, a More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Patrick rated it:

The man universally acclaimed as the father of the American novel here abandons much of his trademark bite to show a surprisingly tender side. By the time Twain is done, you, too, will find yourself full of admiration for Joan of Arc.

Although he knew full well that patriotism is often the last refuge of the scoundrel, Twain turns that saying on its head in this book. In language befitting the fifteenth century, he salutes Joan as a remarkable Catholic teenager who embodies patriotism More...

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Jan 17, 2011

Jodi rated it:

Beautifully written and historically accurate depiction of the now Saint Joan of Arc. Twain was meticulous with his research, taking twelve years, with another two to write the story. Twain is clearly mesmerized with his subject, repeatedly touching on her youth, intellect, beauty, and impeccable character. It was fascinating to read about this incredible woman, who had no education (she couldn't read or write) yet she was able to conduct complex military operations. She was diminutive in size, More...

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Jul 13, 2010

Jill rated it:

Brilliant! One of the top five best books I've ever read. Mark Twain's writing is amazing. I was so captivated by this book, and by its subject. I *love* Twain's style in this book. It is far and away the best book he's written. He wrote with such warmth, such rich detail, and obviously did an amazing amount of research. I learned so much and was enthralled with Joan of Arc. Twain had me laughing out loud, while I was also in such sorrow for the fate of this young girl. This book truly impressed More...

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Jun 12, 2010

Karina rated it:

This book is fantastic. Apparently, Mark Twain considered this his best work. It's the biography of Joan of Arc with a bit of fiction mixed in. It reads like an adventure. I knew of her story in broad strokes: I even researched it once for a school project I think. But this is much more detailed, and more interesting than the accounts I've read.

It's fun to read a few books at the same time and make connections to each other... Lately, anything I read reminds me of Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox More...

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Jul 05, 2010

Erin rated it:

I studied about Joan of Arc's life in school with my daughter this year and was fascinated with the story. I admire the fact that she was not afraid of what anyone said or did. She only feared God, and what would happen if she did not say and do the things she was told to say and do. Wow, what a lesson.

I read this book, for two reasons. First it is on the "Classics book list." Second a friend recommended the book and said it was a very spiritual book. I was a littl More...

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Mar 19, 2010

Debbie rated it:

I've heard stories about Joan of Arc, usually in European history classes. But I never knew the real story, and all the politics involved. This book, presented as a novel, gives life to the people involved and the political climate of the times. Mark Twain's reflections on the judges that try Joan of Arc are witty and sarcastic, but in a subtle way. But they do lighten up a very emotional, riveting tale.

The tale is told from the point of view of a childhood friend of Joan's. As her More...

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