Rating: 
Summary: An enchanting story of the heroine's triumphs and tragedies.
Review: It is an inspiring novel of faith, virtue, joy, and loss. If I had not read this, I would have missed arguably the greatest rendition of her life ever written, or rather, the greatest book in general ever written. I encourage all to read this.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: It is, quite simply, the best book I have read in years. Her story is without equal. That, coupled with Mr. Twain's talent for words, produced a work that touched my soul.
Rating:
Summary: A 54 yr old Joan of Arc fanatic reviews Mark Twain.
Review: It's a shame but understandable that the 14 yr old boy ( who changed his name ) couldn't finish the book. Twain's style is out of date in today's instant gratification world.Twain's book is the obligatory "first Joan book". True Joan fans move on to Regine Pernoud's historically accurate and complete works, but no one recreates Joan's character as intimately as Twain. Historians couldn't do so without endangering their professional objectivity in the eyes of their peers. See also Twain's wonderful 1906 essay on Joan easily found on the Internet. Twain wrote five earlier versions of this book and let his wife read them. She was not impressed. The book shown here is Twain's sixth version which his wife liked. In the earlier versions, Twain probably wrote historical biographies, but ran into problems. It is difficult to keep track of the many characters. Without pictures to look at it's hard to imagine what's going on. So Twain watered down the sixth version, leaving out a lot of historical details, and used certain literary devices. The character Sieur Louis Conte, who somehow managed to be near Joan from her childhood all the way to the stake, was a fictional character used to provide continuity. "SLC" are the initials of Samual Langhorne Clemens, Twain's real name. "Conte" is French for tales. There are many pages of casual dialogue between a group of fictional characters who supposedly accompanied Joan from her village to the wars. They were Joan's band of personal friends. Twain's purpose was to show how popular and human Joan was. In reality, when Joan entered Orleans, people kissed the footprints left behind by the horse Joan was riding! Joan showed all the emotions of a typical teenaged girl. She really did cry when wounded by the arrow, and insulted by the enemy. She showed a sense of humor even at the trial she knew would condemn her to death. The fictional giant soldier called "Dwarf" deserted the army to attend to his sick family all of whom died and then returned to the army to seek death himself for desertion. Joan pardoned him and they fought together. Of course, the giant Dwarf is a symbol of France. The most mysterious device Twain uses is beginning the book with a long discussion of the "Fairy Tree". You wonder what it will lead to, but there is nothing about it later in the book. What was that all about? The Fairy Tree represents the family tree of the Western world which is what it is today largely because of Joan. If she had not saved France as an independent nation 600 years ago, the history books would have to be thrown out and completely rewritten. And what of the new world? Discovered by someone else. Discovered at another time. Explored by someone else. Settled by someone else. No United States of America! Another country, or other countries, here. Other peoples living here. Your family? Never born. You and I would not exist. That's what Mother of Nations Saint Joan of Arc was all about. Too bad that 14 year old, and much older people, can't find the time to understand Joan's story. We owe her a lot.
Rating:
Summary: A 54 yr old Joan of Arc fanatic reviews Mark Twain.
Review: It's a shame but understandable that the 14 yr old boy ( who changed his name ) couldn't finish the book. Twain's style is out of date in today's instant gratification world. Twain's book is the obligatory "first Joan book". True Joan fans move on to Regine Pernoud's historically accurate and complete works, but no one recreates Joan's character as intimately as Twain. Historians couldn't do so without endangering their professional objectivity in the eyes of their peers. See also Twain's wonderful 1906 essay on Joan easily found on the Internet. Twain wrote five earlier versions of this book and let his wife read them. She was not impressed. The book shown here is Twain's sixth version which his wife liked. In the earlier versions, Twain probably wrote historical biographies, but ran into problems. It is difficult to keep track of the many characters. Without pictures to look at it's hard to imagine what's going on. So Twain watered down the sixth version, leaving out a lot of historical details, and used certain literary devices. The character Sieur Louis Conte, who somehow managed to be near Joan from her childhood all the way to the stake, was a fictional character used to provide continuity. "SLC" are the initials of Samual Langhorne Clemens, Twain's real name. "Conte" is French for tales. There are many pages of casual dialogue between a group of fictional characters who supposedly accompanied Joan from her village to the wars. They were Joan's band of personal friends. Twain's purpose was to show how popular and human Joan was. In reality, when Joan entered Orleans, people kissed the footprints left behind by the horse Joan was riding! Joan showed all the emotions of a typical teenaged girl. She really did cry when wounded by the arrow, and insulted by the enemy. She showed a sense of humor even at the trial she knew would condemn her to death. The fictional giant soldier called "Dwarf" deserted the army to attend to his sick family all of whom died and then returned to the army to seek death himself for desertion. Joan pardoned him and they fought together. Of course, the giant Dwarf is a symbol of France. The most mysterious device Twain uses is beginning the book with a long discussion of the "Fairy Tree". You wonder what it will lead to, but there is nothing about it later in the book. What was that all about? The Fairy Tree represents the family tree of the Western world which is what it is today largely because of Joan. If she had not saved France as an independent nation 600 years ago, the history books would have to be thrown out and completely rewritten. And what of the new world? Discovered by someone else. Discovered at another time. Explored by someone else. Settled by someone else. No United States of America! Another country, or other countries, here. Other peoples living here. Your family? Never born. You and I would not exist. That's what Mother of Nations Saint Joan of Arc was all about. Too bad that 14 year old, and much older people, can't find the time to understand Joan's story. We owe her a lot.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Tribute!
Review: Mark Twain astounded me with this account of St. Jeanne d'Arc's life and death. His twelve years of research are clearly evident in the meticulous detail and quotations taken directly from the French National Archive. Told from the point of view of Louis de Conte, it is an exciting narrative of the battles that won France its freedom and the amazing girl who made it all possible. I truly believed I was reading the memoirs of a man who had known her personally! Twain's idolization of Joan is prominant in each chapter. While this does taint his descriptions of the English and Charles VII, it is this adoration that makes this book so endearing. The reader gets pulled into fifteenth century France, cheering Joan's victories and mourning her injustices. For Twain, this must have been a labor of love, and I am grateful for his devotion to her tale. The footnotes add amusing and sometimes heartbreaking side information. Those who speak French will enjoy the portions written in that language. Those who don't, fear not! Being unable to read it will not ruin the story. While this is a serious novel, Twain's famous sense of irony manages to find a place amongst the legend. I suggest that everyone, particularly avid readers of Mark Twain or of historical figures, read this book. While some may not enjoy it as much as others, it is a history that needs to be kept alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Mark Twain may have liked it...
Review: Mark Twain considered this work to be the best material he ever produced. With almost reverent respect for Twain, I beg to differ. While claiming no great expertise on the historical figure of Joan of Arc, this work falls far short of giving any sort of objective description of her life or accomplishments. This work falls more along the lines of sugar-coated heroine worship suitable for a 10 year old than it does a historical narrative of a live human being. Mark Twain was a first-rate story teller and humorist. Few have risen to his level. Unfortunately, he mixed his inclination for a good story with historical fact and the result is neither a good story nor historical fact. There is good reason that this is a little known work of Twain's.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on an important subject
Review: Mark Twain did an excellent job of bringing Joan of Arc's story to life. What seemed truly miraculous to me was that she was able to inspire the generals and soldiers to give up their bad habits!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on an important subject
Review: Mark Twain did an excellent job of bringing Joan of Arc's story to life. What seemed truly miraculous to me was that she was able to inspire the generals and soldiers to give up their bad habits!
Rating:
Summary: Best book I have ever read!
Review: Mark Twain's Joan of Arc is the best book I have ever read. It is remarkable to think that this young, uneducated teenager had the courage to convince the king to give her an army to save her country. The book is especially interesting, given Twain's usual disdain for religion.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Gem
Review: My twelve year old daughter and I read this book aloud as a supplement to our studies of the Middle Ages. Before we began I thought the 452 pages would be a bit daunting but by the time we finished we wished the book was longer. This was an incredible story told by a wonderful storyteller. The characters became more than just names in a history book. We now have an in-depth understanding of the time period, the politics, and the corruption of the Church. This book by Mark Twain, which took him two years to write and involved twelve years of research, is written in the voice of Joan's page and secretary, the Sieur Louis de Conte. De Conte knew Joan as a child and was the one person who was with her through everything up until the fatal end. The book is divided into three sections. The first section details Joan's life as a village peasant when her Voices came to her directing her to take up her mission to rid France of the English, and crown Charles VII the king. In the second section, Joan's military campaign is described and explored. Militarily speaking, it was a triumph. After all, she was the only person in all of history to hold the supreme command of a nation's armies at the age of seventeen. And she was a girl for goodnes sake! It was unheard of at the time and would still be remarkable today. The third section deals with Joan's trial for witchcraft where her strength of character is especially evident. To the end, she claimed her Voices came from God not from Satan as charged. She was unwavering on this point up until she was burned at the stake. Her trial was a sham designed to further the interests of the infamous French bishop, Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais. She died a martyr's death while her beloved France and her King looked on doing nothing to save her. This book was particularly impacting for my daughter as it dealt with a young girl who was remarkable for her character, her religious devotion and her strength. It was a special experience to share it together as a read aloud and I would recommend it highly to anyone looking to further their understanding of a remarkable young girl who changed the course of history.
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