Rating: 
Summary: Not your typical Mark Twain book
Review: "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" is a unique entry in the catalog of Mark Twain's works. The reader will find here little of the humor and irreverence which mark most of Twain's earlier works, and none of the darkness and despair which mark a few of his later works. Instead the reader will find a moving story of the life of Joan of Arc, the poor, uneducated peasant girl who was called by God to liberate France, who led a dispirited and broken French army in victory after victory, who was put to death by a corrupt church hierarchy, and who was later canonized as a Catholic saint. While many of the details in the book are fictionalized, the major points of the story are in harmony with the known facts of Joan's life. In fact, Twain spent twelve years doing research for this book.
I was pleasantly surprised by Mark Twain's reverent treatment of religion in "Joan of Arc." Judging by Twain's other writings, it seems clear that he did not have a very high opinion of the Catholic Church (especially during the Middle Ages), or of religion in general. Yet this book is a moving and poignant portrait of a medieval Catholic saint, which shows a great respect for Joan's religious convictions. And Twain makes it clear from the very outset, in the preface to the book, that he believes Joan of Arc to have been one of the greatest people ever to have lived; he says that her character "occupies the loftiest place possible to human attainment, a loftier one than has been reached by any other mere mortal."
Mark Twain is quoted as saying that "Joan of Arc" was the book which he liked "best among all my books." I would not go quite that far, as there are several other books of his that I think are better. But this is clearly one of Twain's more underrated and overlooked works. It is somewhat long and slow-moving, but taken as a whole it is an inspiring and enjoyable account of the extraordinary life of Joan of Arc.
Rating: 
Summary: The importance of "Joan of Arc" to Mark Twain
Review: Albert Paine's biography, "The Adventures of Mark Twain" says: "It was just at this time [while Clemens was still in Hannibel working for his brother's paper] that an incident occurred which may be looked back upon now as a turning-point in Samuel Clemens's life. Coming home from the office one afternoon, he noticed a square of paper being swept along by the wind. He saw that it was printed . . . . He chased the flying scrap and overtook it. It was a leaf from some old history of Joan of Arc, and pictured the hard lot of the 'maid' in the tower of Rouen . . . . Sam had never heard of Joan before -- he knew nothing of history. He was no reader. . . . But now, as he read, there awoke in him a deep feeling of pity and indignation, and with it a longing to know more of the tragic story. It was an interest that would last his life through, and in the course of time find expression in one of the rarest books ever written. The first result was than Sam began to read. He hunted up everything he could find on the subject of Joan, and from that went into French history in general -- indeed, into history of every kind. Samuel Clemens had suddenly become a reader . . . ."
Rating:
Summary: The importance of "Joan of Arc" to Mark Twain
Review: Albert Paine's biography, "The Adventures of Mark Twain" says: "It was just at this time [while Clemens was still in Hannibel working for his brother's paper] that an incident occurred which may be looked back upon now as a turning-point in Samuel Clemens's life. Coming home from the office one afternoon, he noticed a square of paper being swept along by the wind. He saw that it was printed . . . . He chased the flying scrap and overtook it. It was a leaf from some old history of Joan of Arc, and pictured the hard lot of the 'maid' in the tower of Rouen . . . . Sam had never heard of Joan before -- he knew nothing of history. He was no reader. . . . But now, as he read, there awoke in him a deep feeling of pity and indignation, and with it a longing to know more of the tragic story. It was an interest that would last his life through, and in the course of time find expression in one of the rarest books ever written. The first result was than Sam began to read. He hunted up everything he could find on the subject of Joan, and from that went into French history in general -- indeed, into history of every kind. Samuel Clemens had suddenly become a reader . . . ."
Rating:
Summary: Good read, confused about its orgins when I first saw it
Review: I found this book in a library and read it. I was surprised that Mark Twain wrote such a serious piece -- it did not contain his typical wit or sarcasm, but was a rather sentimental account of Joan of Arc. I wasn't sure when I started or finished it if it was actually a translation he made from a real account or if he had written it himself as a sort of historically based piece of fiction. I gather from what I have seen elsewhere that this is considered fiction -- a novel -- but he was painstaking in his attention to historical details and facts. It was a wonderful book, and I found it inspiring. He persuaded me to believe her story.
Rating:
Summary: Good read, confused about its orgins when I first saw it
Review: I found this book in a library and read it. I was surprised that Mark Twain wrote such a serious piece -- it did not contain his typical wit or sarcasm, but was a rather sentimental account of Joan of Arc. I wasn't sure when I started or finished it if it was actually a translation he made from a real account or if he had written it himself as a sort of historically based piece of fiction. I gather from what I have seen elsewhere that this is considered fiction -- a novel -- but he was painstaking in his attention to historical details and facts. It was a wonderful book, and I found it inspiring. He persuaded me to believe her story.
Rating:
Summary: All time greatest book on Joan of Arc
Review: Mark Twain's best. I couldn't put it down. I was away for the weekend, found it on a book table in the lobby, and bought it for bedtime reading. The rest of the weekend was devoted to living Joan's story. A great weekend. An incredible book. This book will make you feel like you walked with Joan, knew her, loved her - READ THIS BOOK. Truly one of the greatest reads of my life! A Book that really changed my perspective on a lot of things.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece to be reckoned with! Beautifully written!
Review: Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc is a different type of masterpiece, portraying the life of one of the world's greatest people, and showing the more serious side of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). "Joan of Arc" is narrated by Joan's best friend Louis, who follows Joan's life from her childhood to her tragic death "saying I was at her side through everything, and mine was the last human hand she touched". This book is known as Twain's personal favorite of all his works because he considered her "the most amazing person the human race has ever produced..." Though different in fictional aspects from the equally excellent CBS movie (with Peter O'Toole and Leelee Sobieski) all the material seems to fit into place nicely. Twain spent twelve years researching archives and trial notes for this book. Reading this book will make people love and recognize Joan d'Arc for who she was even more.
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Summary: Joan of Arc Too Often Overlooked
Review: The publication of The Oxford Mark Twain edition of Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc is significant, primarily in that it makes available to a wide audience a book that has been unjustly relegated to the rosters of religious specialty publishers, thereby denying it the widespread popularity it so richly deserves. The edition also includes two very insightful essays on the book: an Introduction by Justin Kaplan and an Afterword by Susan K. Harris. However, both of these essays make the mistake that most critics have made over the years--they ignore the fact that the book is an enormously entertaining read!
Mr. Kaplan's Introduction starts off with the bald statement that had the book "been the work of another popular writer of its day ... it would not command attention a century later." A curious way to start an introduction for a book which the publisher presumably wishes to sell. Ms. Harris, on the other hand, makes some excellent points supporting her thesis that the novel is "a document of fin-de-siécle loss and alienation," but, like Mr. Kaplan, is relentlessly dismissive of the work's quality as a whole. Both authors seem to resent the fact that Mark Twain's chronicle is not a funny book, nor does it fit easily into the pigeonhole of Twain as American literary icon. Interestingly enough, it is Mr. Kaplan who cites Susy Clemens' opinion on her father's career: "He should show himself to be the great writer that he is, not merely a funny man! Funny! That's all the people see in him--a maker of funny speeches!" A hundred years after her statement, Kaplan and Harris are quick to bear out its unfortunate truth.
Joan of Arc may not be a particularly good example of social criticism--as a matter of fact, any criticism of nineteenth century society it contains are heavily veiled by its medieval setting--but it is a scathing indictment of human treachery and deceit, elements that are prevalent in all societies and throughout all eras. And it is a wonderful story! It is Twain at his most unapologetically sentimental, and few writers, if any, were ever capable of achieving that state without descending into the maudlin. The book is not a biography, although it does draw from the actual transcripts of Joan's trial. And it certainly wouldn't pass muster by today's standard of "biography as pathology."*
However, both Kaplan and Harris are on the mark in stating that this book is atypical of Mark Twain. Despite his well-known agnosticism, he writes in an adulatory way about a woman who, 24 years after the publication of this book, was canonized by the Catholic church. Despite his financial problems of the time (leading to bankruptcy), he wrote a book that was a major departure from the style that had made him a success. Despite his virtual hatred of the French, he undertook a loving portrait of their most-cherished national hero.
Twain spent 12 years researching this book, and two more in the writing of it. It was time well spent, and the rewards for the reader are enormous. The author knew that. "I like Joan of Arc best of all my books," said Mark Twain in 1908. "It is the best; I know it perfectly well."
*A term borrowed from Jan Swafford's recent book on Charles Ives (whose connection to Mark Twain is that Ives' father-in-law was Mark Twain's neighbor in Hartford).
Rating:
Summary: Overlooked, yes; but wonderful
Review: There are not enough words to properly rate this book. Mark Twain stepped away from his typical writing style, and the results are amazing. What first drew me to the book was the fact that he had written it, and I simply liked Joan of Arc. This book made me fall in love with her. Yes, it's long, but once you start, you simply can not stop reading. He tells the events of her life beautifully, speaking as Sieur Louis de Conte, her lifelong friend and companion. Everything from the Fairy Tree to her death is enthralling, and he draws medieval France as it was. France was falling, and Joan saved it. Her intelligance beat that of fifty scholars, yet she never learned to read. She could outwit the priest when she was a young child. She overcame all odds, and led France's army to victory. Not many people have read this book, be one of the few that has. I promise that you will not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Atypical Twain, but interesting nonetheless
Review: This is not your typical Mark Twain. It is not a funny book, but rather a history. Drawn from the testimony from the trial of Joan of Arc, it presents a portrait of Joan from childhood until her death, focusing mostly on her military campaign and trial. Told from the perspective of her secretary and page, it is nonetheless a brilliant piece of work, full of wry observations. Although Twain was not religious, the book is full of religion and mysticism; this can be excused, of course, since it is supposed to be told from the perspective of a frenchman of the time. Although not inherently funny, it is a good way to become acquainted with the life and works of Joan of Arc, much less dry than a straight history would be.
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