Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

Personal Recollections
of
Joan of Arc
First edition cover
AuthorMark Twain
IllustratorFrank DuMond
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherHarper & Brothers
Publication date
1896
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback)
Pages260 pp

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 Langhorne 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 soon became known, and Harper and Brothers published the book edition with his name in May 1896.

Many events in the novel are fictionalized; however, the main events in the life of Joan are rendered faithfully.