Book Reviews
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BY COMMENTING
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Mark Twain
© 2002
ISBN 0486424596
Dover Publications
Not many fans of Mark Twain know that he wrote a biography of Joan of Arc. I was not aware of it until the release last year of Twain’s new, revised autobiography. Curious about Mark Twain, I read two of the biographies of him that were published in 2010. I also surfed The Internet for information about him. That’s where I came across Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc. The book was originally published in 1896, but, because of Mark Twain’s fame and the unlikelihood that he would be interested in a Christian saint, the book still appeals to the modern reader. It did appeal to me, and I both read it and then studied the career of Joan of Arc.
I had already seen two movies about Joan of Arc. Twain’s book contained a lot more detail about her life and death. The book is described as fiction, so I compared details from the book to historical accounts of Joan’s life. I found that most of the details about Joan in Twains’ book are supported by historical facts.
It seems strange to me that Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc is described as fiction. The book does have a few fictional characters and episodes in it, but almost everything Twain writes about Joan is, in fact, backed up, as Twain himself points out, by sworn testimony in a court of law. This was easy for me to verify by consulting two historical books on Joan of Arc written by Regine Pernoud. Twain apparently had a very high regard for Joan. The main character in the book, Sieur Louis de Conte, a fictional character that Twain uses to narrate the story from the point of view of an eyewitness, says: “I have finished my story of Joan of Arc, that wonderful child, that sublime personality, that spirit which in one regard has had no peer and will have none—this: its purity from all alloy of self seeking, self-interest, personal ambition. In it no trace of these motives can be found, search as you may, and this cannot be said of any other person whose name appears in profane history.” What Twain has de Conte say is, in fact, Twains own sentiments.
I was already, I thought, familiar with the story of Joan of Arc from two movies I saw many years ago. Curious, I purchased four DVD movies from Amazon. I realize now that none of the movies tell the whole story. For one thing, all four movies condense Joan’s many battles into two or three battle scenes, probably to avoid a very long movie. For another thing, three of the movies took very large liberties depicting the voices Joan claimed to have heard and also drastically changing the events in her family life. Joan comes off in all three movies as somewhat arrogant and disrespectful. The only movie that shows Joan pretty much as she really was is the 1948 Joan of Arc produced by Victor Fleming. So for someone interested in the whole career and trial of Joan of Arc, Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc would be the book to read.
Mark Twain had a life-long curiosity about Joan of Arc caused by his finding a page torn from a history book lying on the sidewalk The page described Joan caged in a fortress prison in Rouen. Twain eventually went to France and studied the court records of her trail and a second rehabilitation trial that cleared her name. After twelve years of investigation and false starts on the book, he finally finished it. He said this book about Joan of Arc is the best of his works and one that he rests his career on. For some reason or another, his book wasn’t well received, and he took some criticism and ridicule from his peers. But Twain persisted in saying that this was the work of which he was most proud. I think he felt disappointed that the work he thought his best was received so poorly by critics.
On December 30, 1905, Mark Twain was the guest of honor at a dinner given at the Aldine Association by the Society of Illustrators. It had been arranged that when Twain was speaking, a young model wearing armor like Joan of Arc would appear followed by a young boy carrying Joan’s banner. The model presented Twain with a wreath of bay laurel. Twain merely bowed and watched her as she turned and left the room. Then, his voice broken, he stunned the audience by saying: “There’s an illustration, gentlemen, a real illustration. I studied that girl, Joan of Arc, for twelve years, and it never seemed to me that the artists and the writers gave us a true picture of her. They drew a picture of a peasant. Her dress was that of a peasant. But they always missed the face—the divine soul, the pure character, the supreme woman, the wonderful girl. She was only eighteen years old, but put into a breast like hers a heart like hers and I think, gentlemen, you would have a girl—like that” (probably referring to the face of the young model). Even at this time, he still felt admiration for Joan and still felt the sting of the poor reception of his book.
Four and an-half years later, Mark Twain left this life. His wife had died in 1904, and Twain became dependant on his personal secretary, Isabel Van Leek Lyon, who apparently was very devoted to him. Something went wrong in their relationship, something that disrupted his relationship with his daughters and soured his relationship with Isabel. It was a very embarrassing scandal during the last years of his life, but Twain, Isabel, and his daughters managed to keep most of this difficulty private. Today, two of the new 2010 biographies focus almost entirely on unpublished private manuscripts by Twain and a secret diary by Isabel, bringing public scrutiny of Twain’s friends and foes alike to this unhappy affair in the most minute and uncomforting detail. I feel compassion for Twain for these last few years of his life.
For fans of Mark Twain who might feel disappointed in hearing the down side of his life, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc shows Twain when he was content with his life and proud of his writings.
Maurice A. Williams
http://www.mauriceawilliams.com
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1241 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Maurice A. Williams or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 1241 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.