Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

[bernadette35]

Firstly, I am rather shocked and saddened that none of Mark Twain's books are anywhere to be found in this forum.

Perhaps I overlooked him, but I thought I did a rather good search.

In any event, I find it fascinating that Twain considered this novel to be favorite and best work. Hence, the quotation from Twain: "I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none." _ (http://www.document-scanner-reviews.com/document-scanner-reviews-website/category/fujitsu-scansnap-s1500m-for-mac-users-review/)Mark Twain.

Another telling quote from him concerning this book: "Possibly the book may not sell, but that is nothing-it was written for love."_Mark Twain.

And, for all the teenagers out there, or probably more so for the female teenagers, this quote: "Consider this unique and imposing distinction. Since the writing of human history began, Joan of Arc is the only person, of either sex, who has ever held supreme command of the military forces of a nation at the age of seventeen."
Louis Kossuth-19th Century European Freedom Fighter

Such a wonderful book. I shall be reading it again, soon.

[Lectora]

Bernadette, I'm sorry you found BGO lacking in respect of Mark Twain's books. We are people from all over the English-speaking world who enjoy reading a huge variety of books. Our background culture as well as our personality, may well have a lot to do with our choice, so you would expect that occasionally some authors do not get the respect you think they deserve from such a cosmopolitan group.

I used to teach English Literature in the UK and overseas. I can't recall ever having Mark Twain as an author we must read either in the degree course I took or in the book lists recommended for study in schools. I remember reading Tom Sawyer in my teens. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are Mark Twain's most famous books. I recall seeing in my teens the film with Danny Kaye(?) A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur. Your message prompted me to look up Mark Twain on Amazon. You must be pleased that Amazon stock most if not all of his books, including the one on Joan of Arc. I would like to see a comparison made of his view of Joan with George Bernard Shaw's in his play Joan of Arc. I once was involved in a production of that in a school where I taught.

I hope you will enjoy being a member of BGO. As a result of the recommendations of others, I've found myself reading and enjoying books I would never have chosen by myself.