Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte is an 1896 novel by Mark Twain which recounts the life of Joan of Arc. The novel is presented as a translation by "Jean Francois Alden" of memoirs by Sieur Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page Louis de Contes. He has the same initials as Samuel Longhorne Clemens, Mark Twain's real name. 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. They are entitled "In Domremy", "In Court and Camp", and "Trial and Martyrdom". Its first book publication was in two volumes, with the second part "In Court and Camp" split between Volume 1 and Volume 2. Some modern editions note where Volume 1 leaves off, and Volume 2 takes up and others do not. The novel was first published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in April 1895. Twain was aware of his reputation as a comic writer and he asked that each installment appear anonymously so that readers would treat it seriously. Regardless, his authorship