Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
by Mark Twain
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896) is a historical novel by , written as a fictional memoir by the Sieur Louis de Conte, Joan of Arc's page and secretary. De Conte narrates Joan's extraordinary life from their shared childhood in the village of Domremy through her divine calling, her military campaigns to liberate France from English occupation, the coronation of the Dauphin at Reims, and her tragic trial and execution at Rouen in 1431.
The novel is divided into three books: In Domremy, which covers Joan's idyllic childhood and her first visions; In Court and Camp, which follows her astonishing military career as she lifts the siege of Orléans and leads the French army to a string of victories; and Trial and Martyrdom, which depicts her imprisonment, her brilliant defense against the Inquisition, and her burning at the stake.
Twain considered this his best and most important work, and spent twelve years researching and writing it. Originally serialized anonymously in Harper's Magazine in 1895–1896, the novel reveals a deeply reverent side of Twain rarely seen in his other writing. His portrait of Joan as the noblest figure in human history is rendered with genuine tenderness and moral seriousness, making it one of the most unusual and personal works in his canon.