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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9781598184938
ISBN number: 1598184938
Label: Aegypan
Manufacturer: Aegypan
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 360
Printing Date: September 01, 2006
Publishing house: Aegypan
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 803940
Studio: Aegypan
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'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 two years of writing. The others need no preparation and got none.' -- Mark Twain
Twain considered this book -- his last finished novel -- to be his most significant. Perhaps it is; certainly it's delightful -- but then, in retrospect, everything Twain did is good cause for delight.
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Rated by buyers 
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The master storyteller, Mark Twain, used his immense talent to create this fictionalized account of Saint Joan's life. Even though it is fiction, it is still very historically accurate and stays true to the story of Saint Joan of Arc. Because it is fiction, Twain is able to bring out Saint Joan's personality in a way that reminds us that she was a beautiful, vibrant, passionate young woman who sacrificed everything to serve God and save her country
I think the very fact that Twain would even choose to write a biography about Saint Joan is a further testament to her greatness. Twain was personal friends with U.S. Grant and could much more easily have written a biography about him. He also lived at a time when some of the greatest military leaders ever lived like Lee, Jackson, etc., so if all he had been looking for was a famous military leader he could have also chosen one of them. Obviously, he was looking for someone even greater to write about. I think his own words probably explain why he chose Saint Joan when he said that: "She was perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history."
Whether you are a Saint Joan devotee or not I think you will enjoy reading this book. It is well written and easy to read and covers one of the greatest stories in world history. If you already know about the life of Saint Joan, I also think you will end up loving this account because of the way Twain brings her to life. Definitely one of the best of all the biographies written about Saint Joan of Arc and considered by Twain himself to be his greatest work. Five stars are probably not enough.
Rated by buyers 
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A paean to the bravery and spirit of Joan of Arc, this novel by Mark Twain is also his most scholarly, having taken twelve years to write. Clearly fascinated by Joan's "voices" and her sense of mission, Twain delves into her religious passion and her belief that God has chosen her to free France from England and restore the Dauphin to the throne. Often focusing on the arguments and trials in which Joan participates throughout her life, Twain shows her childhood endeavor to "save the fairies," her struggle to become general of France, and ultimately, her defense against heresy and sorcery. Through these, Twain attempts to reconcile her spiritual commitment with the tumultuous temporal world in which she is engaged.
Born in Domremy in 1412, seventy-five years after the beginning of the Hundred Years War, Joan, an Armagnac, supports the isolated Dauphin, son of Charles VI; another faction supports the Duke of Burgundy, allied with the British. When Joan is fifteen, her angelic voices tell her she will lead God's armies, win back France, and restore the Dauphin. By the time she is seventeen she is General-in-Chief of France. After lifting the siege of Orleans, achieving many victories, and finally, standing beside the Dauphin at his coronation, she is, however, captured by the Burgundians. Sold to the English, she is later surrendered to an Inquisition in Rouen for trial as a heretic and sorceress. The Dauphin fails to intervene, and at age nineteen she is burned at the stake.
Twain creates a fast-paced story about this tumultuous period, creating a series of repeating characters who anchor Joan's story from the time of childhood until her death. One of these characters is Sieur Louis de Conte, a childhood friend, supporter during battle, and mourner at her execution, who narrates Joan's story many years later. Rare comic scenes provide occasional changes of mood, and the last section of the novel--Joan's trial and execution--is dramatic and moving. With the focus on Joan and the arguments she promotes to advance her cause and facilitate her actions, Twain explores the phenomenon of religious passion and the lengths to which a "chosen" person will go to fulfill divine will.
As interesting as this book is, historically and thematically, it lacks the unity of some of Twain's other novels. Joan of Arc is so heroic in stature that one feels little emotional connection to her, and Twain's dialogue is so wooden that the other characters fail to come alive, except as mouthpieces for background or philosophy. On several occasions, Twain explains the historical background (how the war began, and later the Five Great Deeds of Joan of Arc) though these delay the action. A serious endeavor by Twain to depict a character with whom he was obviously fascinated, this novel is full of biographical and historical detail, but Joan remains an enigma. Mary Whipple
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