Medieval History
Mark Twain?s obsession with Joan of Arc has to rank among the most baffling and least talked about enigmas in American literature. Even for those entrenched within the competitive world of Twain scholarship, stories like the one above are usually treated as interesting, but ultimately trifling, anecdotes, illustrative of the eccentricities of a predictably unconventional man.
The same might also be said of his book about the French heroine. Published in 1896, when its author was 61, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc has long been viewed as something of an aberration, a curio?the type of genre-bending work that a bored, established writer often undertakes in order to buck audience expectations. Narrated by a fictionalized version of Joan?s servant and scribe, Sieur Louis de Conte, the book spans the majority of Joan?s life, beginning with her childhood in eastern France and ending with her questionable trial and execution. While other Twain novels such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur?s Court and The Prince and the Pauper are also set in medieval Europe, far from the author?s more familiar milieu of mid-19th century Missouri, Recollections is unique in its somber tone.
Click here to read this article from The Awl
- France Celebrates Joan Of Arc's 600th Birthday
The normally tranquil city of Orleans is buzzing with festivities over the next two weeks to mark the 600th birthday of one of France's best cultural exports: Joan of Arc. Looking appropriately cinematic, the Loire River swarmed with wooden boats...
- Celebrating The Real Joan Of Arc
On January 6, people around the world will come together to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the birth of St. Joan of Arc, the brave peasant girl from the French countryside who in 1429 lifted the English siege of Orleans, walloped the enemy army and...
- Remembering Joan Of Arc, The Maid Of Orléans
No one knows for sure when Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domrémy. But many believe the date was Jan. 6, 1412 ? six centuries ago today. After all this time, the tale of Joan of Arc remains a strange one. A peasant girl who never learned to read...
- All For Papers *international Joan Of Arc Society
CALL FOR PAPERS *International Joan of Arc Society/ Société Internationale de l?étude de Jeanne d?Arc* *SESSION I*. "*TheTrial to Nullify Joan of Arc's Condemnation."* While much discussion has focused on Joan's Condemnation Trial of 1431,...
- Aldine Club, 1905: Mark Twain & Joan Of Arc
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Aldine Association was located on 18th street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. An all-male club, they hosted elaborate events featuring prominent speakers. For the gathering of the Illustrators Guild on December 22,...
Medieval History
The Riddle Of Mark Twain's Passion For Joan Of Arc
The same might also be said of his book about the French heroine. Published in 1896, when its author was 61, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc has long been viewed as something of an aberration, a curio?the type of genre-bending work that a bored, established writer often undertakes in order to buck audience expectations. Narrated by a fictionalized version of Joan?s servant and scribe, Sieur Louis de Conte, the book spans the majority of Joan?s life, beginning with her childhood in eastern France and ending with her questionable trial and execution. While other Twain novels such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur?s Court and The Prince and the Pauper are also set in medieval Europe, far from the author?s more familiar milieu of mid-19th century Missouri, Recollections is unique in its somber tone.
Click here to read this article from The Awl
- France Celebrates Joan Of Arc's 600th Birthday
The normally tranquil city of Orleans is buzzing with festivities over the next two weeks to mark the 600th birthday of one of France's best cultural exports: Joan of Arc. Looking appropriately cinematic, the Loire River swarmed with wooden boats...
- Celebrating The Real Joan Of Arc
On January 6, people around the world will come together to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the birth of St. Joan of Arc, the brave peasant girl from the French countryside who in 1429 lifted the English siege of Orleans, walloped the enemy army and...
- Remembering Joan Of Arc, The Maid Of Orléans
No one knows for sure when Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domrémy. But many believe the date was Jan. 6, 1412 ? six centuries ago today. After all this time, the tale of Joan of Arc remains a strange one. A peasant girl who never learned to read...
- All For Papers *international Joan Of Arc Society
CALL FOR PAPERS *International Joan of Arc Society/ Société Internationale de l?étude de Jeanne d?Arc* *SESSION I*. "*TheTrial to Nullify Joan of Arc's Condemnation."* While much discussion has focused on Joan's Condemnation Trial of 1431,...
- Aldine Club, 1905: Mark Twain & Joan Of Arc
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Aldine Association was located on 18th street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. An all-male club, they hosted elaborate events featuring prominent speakers. For the gathering of the Illustrators Guild on December 22,...