Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

work by Twain

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July 1, 2026

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Mark Twain's Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc was published anonymously in an effort to have it taken more seriously than works bearing his famous pseudonym. The novel, however, was soon revealed to be his work. It explores the life of Joan of Arc, a French national heroine and saint who, believing she was divinely guided, led the French army to a crucial victory at Orléans during the Hundred Years' War. Despite her pivotal role in repelling English attempts to conquer France, she was captured, tried by an ecclesiastical court, and burned at the stake as a heretic. Her story became a significant factor in the awakening of French national consciousness.123

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Mark Twain
More than a funnyman
Clemens published his next novel, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (serialized 1895–96), anonymously in hopes that the public might take it more seriously than a book bearing the Mark Twain name. The strategy did not work, for it soon became generally known that he was the author; when the…
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Clemens published his next novel, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (serialized 1895–96), anonymously in hopes that the public might take it more seriously than a book bearing the Mark Twain name. The strategy did not work, for it soon became generally known that he was the author; when the…
Read More