Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896). By Mark Twain: Historical novel (illustrated)

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc is an 1896 novel by Mark Twain that recounts the life of Joan of Arc. It is Twain’s last completed novel, published when he was 61 years old. The novel is presented as a translation (by “Jean Francois Alden”) of memoirs by Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of Louis de Contes, Joan of Arc’s page. The novel is divided into three sections according to Joan of Arc’s development: a youth in Domrémy, a commander of the army of Charles VII of France, and a defendant at trial in Rouen. Originally, the novel was published as a serialization in Harper’s Magazine beginning in April 1895. Twain, aware of his reputation as a comic, asked that each installment appear anonymously so that readers would treat the piece seriously. Regardless, his authorship soon became known, and the book edition published by Harper and Brothers in May 1896 credited Mark Twain.