Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

by Mark Twain
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Trade Paperback, 452 pages
Price: $18.95

Few people know that Mark Twain wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent many months in France doing Archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan's unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written by both sides, the French and the English. A remarkable accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country's greatest storytellers.

"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 needed no preparation and got none." —Mark Twain
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Exodus Rating
FLAWS: Violence and fighting, mild language
Summary: This little-known biographical novel by the author of Tom Sawyer follows the life and misfortunes of the great French heroine.

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  A Hard One to Read, but Good
HappyHomemaker of Oregon, 9/26/2011
While this is a great biography of Joan of Arc, due to the course her life took, it's not a particularly happy one. It's a good book, yes, but a sad one. It's hard to read about how this girl was used and abused, manipulated and condemned by those who should have been showing her Christ's love.