Personal Recollections of Joan of
Arc
by Mark Twain, Shelley Fisher Fishkin (Editor)
(Fiction)
Hardcover
Published by Oxford Univ Pr (Trade)
Publication date: November 1, 1996
ISBN: 0195101456
Synopsis:
Written as a personal memoir by her secretary and companion, Mark
Twain's story of Joan of Arc follows the experiences of an inspired
peasant girl who led a beleaguered France from victory to
victory.
Reviews:
A reader, 3/3/2000 Not too bad
Twain does an excellent job of portraying the historical figure of Joan in this book. I enjoyed the development of her life from Domremy and her childhood. Twain is quite bias in his writings towards Joan. He seems to have some sort of infatuation with her, almost a worhsipful tone in his writing.
W., 05/11/97, Joan of Arc
Too Often Overlooked
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-siÈcle loss and alienation," but, like Mr. Kaplan, is relentlessly dismissive of the workís 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 Joanís trial. And it certainly wouldnít pass muster by todayís 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).
Robin , 03/06/97, Twain at
his very best!
This book is classic Twain, on a fascinating historical subject.
While presenting a fact-based recounting of an actual event, Twain
manages to touch on some of his favorite themes: the disparity
between classes; foreign cultures; and humankind's inhumanity. He
even works in a ghost story! Far and away one of the best historical
novels. If you're a Twain fan, and you've overlooked this book (easy
enough to do -- this is his least-known work) this one is a
must-read. Even if you're not a huge Twain fan, it doesn't matter --
this is still an excellent book, and helps put a little-known era of
European history in perspective.