Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte, published in 1896, is Mark Twain’s last novel, his most unusual novel, and, in his opinion, his best novel. It recounts the life of Joan of Arc in the guise of a purported translation by one “Jean Francis Alden” of the memoirs of Louis de Conte, a fictionalized version of her page. Twain had an enduring fascination with Joan of Arc dating from the 1850’s and spent considerable time on research, much of it during his time in France. He modeled the physical appearance of Joan of Arc on his late daughter Susy Clemens as he remembered her at age 17.

The book is structured in three parts: Book One treats Joan of Arc’s youth in Donremy; Book Two recounts her time as commander of the army of the French King Charles VII; Book Three covers her imprisonment and trial in Rouen. The novel was serialized anonymously in Harper’s Magazine starting in April, 1895, so that readers would take it seriously, but his authorship soon became known. It was generally well received upon publication. Some critics commented that Twain’s tone and style were completely different in this work. Twain’s typical flippant, sardonic mocking spirit gave way to a dignified sincerity and pathos; laughter was replaced by tears. It presents something of a conundrum: a serious treatment of the life of a French Catholic martyr by a man who is an anti- Catholic non-believer who dislikes the French. Perhaps that’s why he liked it so well.

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